UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
AT  LOS  ANGELES 


GIFT  OF  CAPT.  AND  MRS. 
PAUL  MCBRIDE  PERIGORD 


UNIVEKSiiX  oi 
AT 

LOS  ANGELES 
LIBRARY 


HAVE  FAITH 

IN 
MASSACHUSETTS 


HAVE  FAITH 

IN 

MASSACHUSETTS 


A  Collection  of 


and  Messages 
" 


CALVIN  COOLIDGE 

Governor  of  Massachusetts 


BOSTON  AND  NEW  YORK 

HOUGHTON  MIFFLIN  COMPANY 

The  Riverside  Press  Cambridge 
1919 


1r»)  *»  ( 
O^v 


COPYRIGHT,    1919,   BY   CALVIN    COOLIDGK 
ALL   RIGHTS    RESERVED 


no 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE 

THERE  are  certain  fundamental  principles 
of  sound  community  life  which  cannot  be 
stated  too  emphatically  or  too  often.  Few 
public  men  of  to-day  have  shown  a  finer 
combination  of  right  feeling  and  clear 
thinking  about  these  principles,  with  a  gift 
for  the  pithy  expression  of  them,  than  has 
Governor  Calvin  Coolidge.  It  was  an  ac- 
curate phrase  that  President  Meiklejohn 
used  when,  in  conferring  the  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Laws  on  him  at  Amherst  Col- 
lege last  June,  he  complimented  him  on 
teaching  the  lesson  of  "adequate  brevity." 
His  speeches  and  messages  abound  in 
evidences  of  this  gift,  but  in  the  main  the 
speeches  are  not  easily  accessible.  It  has 
seemed  to  some  of  Governor  Coolidge's 
admirers,  as  it  has  to  the  publishers  of 
this  little  volume,  that  a  real  public  service 


vi  INTRODUCTORY  NOTE 

might  be  rendered  by  making  a  careful 
selection  from  the  best  of  the  speeches  and 
issuing  them  in  an  attractive  and  conven- 
ient form.  With  his  permission  this  has 
been  done,  and  it  is  hoped  that  many 
readers  will  welcome  the  book  in  this  time 
of  special  need  of  inspiring  and  steadying 
influences. 

It  is  a  time  when  all  men  should  realize 
that,  in  the  words  of  Governor  Coolidge 
himself,  "Laws  must  rest  on  the  eternal 
foundations  of  righteousness";  that  "In- 
dustry, thrift,  character  are  not  conferred 
by  act  or  resolve.  Government  cannot  re- 
lieve from  toil."  It  is  a  time  when  we  must 
"have  faith  in  Massachusetts.  We  need  a 
broader,  firmer,  deeper  faith  in  the  people, 
—  a  faith  that  men  desire  to  do  right,  that 
the  Commonwealth  is  founded  upon  a  right- 
eousness which  will  endure." 

THE  EDITORS 

Boston,  September,  1919 


CONTENTS 

I.  To  the  State  Senate  on  Being  Elected  its 

President,  January  7,  1914  3 

II.  Amherst    College  Alumni  Association, 

Boston,  February  4,  1916  10 

III.  Brockton  Chamber  of  Commerce,  April 

11,  1916  15 

IV.  At  the  Home  of  Daniel  Webster,  Marsh- 

field,  July  4,  1916  21 

V.  Riverside,  August  28,  1916  38 

VI.  At  the  Home  of  Augustus  P.  Gardner, 

Hamilton,  September,  1916  42 

VII.  Lafayette  Banquet,  Fall  River,  Septem- 
ber 4,  1916  47 

VIII.  Norfolk  Republican  Club,  Boston,  Octo- 
ber 9,  1916  51 

IX.  Public  Meeting  on  the  High  Cost  of  Liv- 
ing, Faneuil  Hall,  December  9,  1916      55 

X.  One  Hundredth  Anniversary  Dinner  of 
the  Provident  Institution  for  Savings, 
December  13,  1916  59 

XL  Allied  Industries  Dinner,  Boston,  Decem- 
ber 15,  1916  63 

XII.  On  the  Nature  of  Politics  69 


viii  CONTENTS 

XIII.  Tremont  Temple,  November  3, 1917      85 

XIV.  Dedication  of  Town-House,  Weston, 

November  27,  1917  91 

XV.  Amherst  Alumni  Dinner,  Springfield, 

March  15,  1918  102 

XVI.  Message  for  the  Boston  Post,  April 

22,  1918  108 

XVII.  Roxbury  Historical  Society,  Bunker 

Hill  Day,  June  17,  1918  109 

XVIII.  Fairhaven,  July  4,  1918  122 

XIX.  Somerville  Republican  City  Commit- 
tee, August  7,  1918  126 
XX.  Written  for  the  Sunday  Advertiser  and 

American,  September  1,  1918  132 

XXI.  Essex  County  Club,  Lynnfield,  Sep- 
tember 14,  1918  138 

XXII.  Tremont  Temple,  November  2, 1918   148 
XXIII.  Faneuil  Hall,  November  4, 1918  158 

XXIV.  From  Inaugural  Address  as  Gover- 
nor, January  2,  1919  161 
XXV.  Statement  on  the  Death  of  Theodore 

Roosevelt  164 

XXVI.  Lincoln  Day  Proclamation,  January 

30,  1919  166 

XXVII.  Introducing  Henry  Cabot  Lodge  and 
A.  Lawrence  Lowell  at  the  Debate 
on  the  League  of  Nations,  Sym- 
phony Hall,  March  19,  1919  169 


CONTENTS  k 

XXVIII.  Veto  of  Salary  Increase  171 

XXIX.  Flag  Day  Proclamation,  May  26, 

1919  177 

XXX.  Amherst    College    Commencement, 

June  18,  1919  180 

XXXI.   Harvard  University  Commence- 
ment, June  19,  1919  188 

XXXII.  Plymouth,  Labor  Day,  September  1, 

1919  197 

XXXIII.  Westfield,  September  3,  1919  207 

A  Proclamation  219 

An  Order  221 

A  Telegram  222 


HAVE  FAITH 
IN 

MASSACHUSETTS 


HAVE  FAITH 

IN 

MASSACHUSETTS 
I 

TO  THE  STATE  SENATE  ON  BEING 

ELECTED  ITS  PRESIDENT 

JANUARY  7,  1914 

HONORABLE  SENATORS:  —  I  thank  you  — 
with  gratitude  for  the  high  honor  given, 
with  appreciation  for  the  solemn  obliga- 
tions assumed  —  I  thank  you. 

This  Commonwealth  is  one.  We  are  all 
members  of  one  body.  The  welfare  of  the 
weakest  and  the  welfare  of  the  most  power- 
ful are  inseparably  bound  together.  In- 
dustry cannot  flourish  if  labor  languish. 
Transportation  cannot  prosper  if  manu- 
factures decline.  The  general  welfare  can- 
not be  provided  for  in  any  one  act,  but  it 
is  well  to  remember  that  the  benefit  of 
one  is  the  benefit  of  all,  and  the  neglect 
of  one  is  the  neglect  of  all.  The  suspension 


Men 
cover 


4  TO  THE  STATE  SENATE 

of  one  man's  dividends  is  the  suspension  of 
another  man's  pay  envelope. 

do  not  make  laws.  They  do  but  dis- 
them.  Laws  must  be  justified  by 
something  more  than  the  will  of  the  major- 
ity. They  must  rest  on  the  eternal  founda- 
tion of  righteousness.  That  state  is  most 
fortunate  in  its  form  of  government  which 
has  the  aptest  instruments  for  the  discovery 
of  laws.  The  latest,  most  modern,  and  near- 
est perfect  system  that  statesmanship  has 
devised  is  representative  government.  Its 
weakness  is  the  weakness  of  us  imperfect 
human  beings  who  administer  it.  Its 
strength  is  that  even  such  administration 
secures  to  the  people  more  blessings  than 
any  other  system  ever  produced.  No  na- 
tion has  discarded  it  and  retained  liberty. 
Representative  government  must  be  pre- 
served. 

Courts  are  established,  not  to  determine 
the  popularity  of  a  cause,  but  to  adjudi- 
cate and  enforce  rights.  No  litigant  should 


ON  BEING  ELECTED  ITS  PRESIDENT    5 

be  required  to  submit  his  case  to  the  haz- 
ard and  expense  of  a  political  campaign. 
No  judge  should  be  required  to  seek  or 
receive  political  rewards.  The  courts  of 
Massachusetts  are  known  and  honored 
wherever  men  love  justice.  Let  their  glory 
suffer  no  diminution  at  our  hands.  The 
electorate  and  judiciary  cannot  combine. 
A  hearing  means  a  hearing.  When  the  trial 
of  causes  goes  outside  the  court-room, 
Anglo-Saxon  constitutional  government 
ends. 

The  people  cannot  look  to  legislation 
generally  for  success.  Industry,  thrift, 
character,  are  not  conferred  by  act  or  re- 
solve. Government  cannot  relieve  from 
toil.  It  can  provide  no  substitute  for  the 
rewards  of  service.  It  can,  of  course,  care 
for  the  defective  and  recognize  distin- 
guished merit.  The  normal  must  care  for 
themselves.  Self-government  means  self- 
support. 

Man  is  born  into  the  universe  with  a 


6  TO  THE  STATE  SENATE 

personality  that  is  his  own.  He  has  a  right 
that  is  founded  upon  the  constitution  of 
the  universe  to  have  property  that  is  his 
own.  Ultimately,  property  rights  and  per- 
sonal rights  are  the  same  thing.  The  one 
cannot  be  preserved  if  the  other  be  vio- 
lated. Each  man  is  entitled  to  his  rights  and 
the  rewards  of  his  service  be  they  never  so 
large  or  never  so  small. 

History  reveals  no  civilized  people 
among  whom  there  were  not  a  highly  edu- 
cated class,  and  large  aggregations  of 
wealth,  represented  usually  by  the  clergy 
and  the  nobility.  Inspiration  has  always 
come  from  above.  Diffusion  of  learning  has 
come  down  from  the  university  to  the  com- 
mon school  —  the  kindergarten  is  last.  No 
one  would  now  expect  to  aid  the  common 
school  by  abolishing  higher  education. 

It  may  be  that  the  diffusion  of  wealth 
works  in  an  analogous  way.  As  the  little 
red  schoolhouse  is  builded  in  the  college,  it 
may  be  that  the  fostering  and  protection 


ON  BEING  ELECTED  ITS  PRESIDENT    7 

of  large  aggregations  of  wealth  are  the  only 
foundation  on  which  to  build  the  prosper- 
ity of  the  whole  people.  Large  profits 
mean  large  pay  rolls.  But  profits  must  be 
the  result  of  service  performed.  In  no  land 
are  there  so  many  and  such  large  aggrega- 
tions of  wealth  as  here;  in  no  land  do  they 
perform  larger  service;  in  no  land  will  the 
work  of  a  day  bring  so  large  a  reward  in 
material  and  spiritual  welfare. 

Have  faith  in  Massachusetts.  In  some 
unimportant  detail  some  other  States  may 
surpass  her,  but  in  the  general  results, 
there  is  no  place  on  earth  where  the  people 
secure,  in  a  larger  measure,  the  blessings  of 
organized  government,  and  nowhere  can 
those  functions  more  properly  be  termed 
self-government . 

Do  the  day's  work.  If  it  be  to  protect 
the  rights  of  the  weak,  whoever  objects, 
do  it.  If  it  be  to  help  a  powerful  corpora- 
tion better  to  serve  the  people,  whatever 
the  opposition,  do  that.  Expect  to  be 


8  TO  THE  STATE  SENATE 

called  a  stand-patter,  but  don't  be  a  stand- 
patter. Expect  to  be  called  a  demagogue, 
but  don't  be  a  demagogue.  Don't  hesitate 
to  be  as  revolutionary  as  science.  Don't 
hesitate  to  be  as  reactionary  as  the  multi- 
plication table.  Don't  expect  to  build  up 
the  weak  by  pulling  down  the  strong. 
Don't  hurry  to  legislate.  Give  administra- 
tion a  chance  to  catch  up  with  legislation. 

We  need  a  broader,  firmer,  deeper  faith 
in  the  people  —  a  faith  that  men  desire  to  do 
right,  that  the  Commonwealth  is  founded 
upon  a  righteousness  which  will  endure,  a 
reconstructed  faith  that  the  final  approval 
of  the  people  is  given  not  to  demagogues, 
slavishly  pandering  to  their  selfishness, 
merchandising  with  the  clamor  of  the  hour, 
but  to  statesmen,  ministering  to  their  wel- 
fare, representing  their  deep,  silent,  abid- 
ing convictions. 

Statutes  must  appeal  to  more  than  ma- 
terial welfare.  Wages  won't  satisfy,  be 
they  never  so  large.  Nor  houses;  nor  lands; 


ON  BEING  ELECTED  ITS  PRESIDENT    9 

nor  coupons,  though  they  fall  thick  as  the 
leaves  of  autumn.  Man  has  a  spiritual  na- 
ture. Touch  it,  and  it  must  respond  as  the 
magnet  responds  to  the  pole.  To  that,  not 
to  selfishness,  let  the  laws  of  the  Common- 
wealth appeal.  Recognize  the  immortal 
worth  and  dignity  of  man.  Let  the  laws  of 
Massachusetts  proclaim  to  her  humblest 
citizen,  performing  the  most  menial  task, 
the  recognition  of  his  manhood,  the  recog- 
nition that  all  men  are  peers,  the  humblest 
with  the  most  exalted,  the  recognition  that 
all  work  is  glorified.  Such  is  the  path  to ' 
equality  before  the  law.  Such  is  the  founda- 
tion of  liberty  under  the  law.  Such  is  the 
sublime  revelation  of  man's  relation  to 
man  —  Democracy. 


10  AMHERST  COLLEGE 


II 

AMHERST  COLLEGE  ALUMNI  ASSOCIA- 
TION, BOSTON 

FEBRUARY  4,  1916 

WE  live  in  an  age  which  questions  every- 
thing. The  past  generation  was  one  of  reli- 
gious criticism.  This  is  one  of  commercial 
criticism. 

.  We  have  seen  the  development  of  great 
industries.  It  has  been  represented  that 
some  of  these  have  not  been  free  from 
blame.  In  this  development  some  men  have 
seemed  to  prosper  beyond  the  measure  of 
their  service,  while  others  have  appeared 
to  be  bound  to  toil  beyond  their  strength 
for  less  than  a  decent  livelihood. 

As  a  result  of  criticising  these  conditions 
there  has  grown  up  a  too  well-developed 
public  opinion  along  two  lines;  one,  that 
the  men  engaged  in  great  affairs  are  sel- 
fish and  greedy  and  not  to  be  trusted, 


ALUMNI  ASSOCIATION,  BOSTON      11 

that  business  activity  is  not  moral  and  the 
whole  system  is  to  be  condemned ;  and  the 
other,  that  employment,  that  work,  is  a 
curse  to  man,  and  that  working  hours 
ought  to  be  as  short  as  possible  or  in  some 
way  abolished.  After  criticism,  our  reli- 
gious faith  emerged  clearer  and  stronger 
and  freed  from  doubt.  So  will  our  business 
relations  emerge,  purified  but  justified. 

The  evidence  of  evolution  and  the  facts 
of  history  tell  us  of  the  progress  and  devel- 
opment of  man  through  various  steps  and 
ages,  known  by  various  names.  We  learn 
of  the  stone  age,  the  bronze,  and  the  iron 
age.  We  can  see  the  different  steps  in  the 
growth  of  the  forms  of  government;  how 
anarchy  was  put  down  by  the  strong  arm 
of  the  despot,  of  the  growth  of  aristoc- 
racy, of  limited  monarchies  and  of  parlia- 
ments, and  finally  democracy. 

But  in  all  these  changes  man  took  but 
one  step  at  a  time.  Where  we  can  trace 
history,  no  race  ever  stepped  directly  from 


12  AMHERST  COLLEGE 

the  stone  age  to  the  iron  age  and  no  nation 
ever  passed  directly  from  depotism  to  de- 
mocracy. Each  advance  has  been  made 
only  when  a  previous  stage  was  approach- 
ing perfection,  even  to  conditions  which 
are  now  sometimes  lost  arts. 

We  have  reached  the  age  of  invention, 
of  commerce,  of  great  industrial  enterprise. 
It  is  often  referred  to  as  selfish  and  ma- 
terialistic. 

Our  economic  system  has  been  attacked 
from  above  and  from  below.  But  the  short 
answer  lies  in  the  teachings  of  history.  The 
hope  of  a  Watt  or  an  Edison  lay  in  the 
men  who  chipped  flint  to  perfection.  The 
seed  of  democracy  lay  in  a  perfected  des- 
potism. The  hope  of  to-morrow  lies  in  the 
development  of  the  instruments  of  to-day. 
The  prospect  of  advance  lies  in  maintain- 
ing those  conditions  which  have  stimulated 
invention  and  industry  and  commerce.  The 
only  road  to  a  more  progressive  age  lies  in 
perfecting  the  instrumentalities  of  this  age. 


ALUMNI  ASSOCIATION,  BOSTON      13 

The  only  hope  for  peace  lies  in  the  per- 
fection of  the  arts  of  war. 

"  We  build  the  ladder  by  which  we  rise 
And  we  mount  to  the  summit  round  by  round." 

All  growth  depends  upon  activity.  Life 
is  manifest  only  by  action.  There  is  no 
development  physically  or  intellectually 
without  effort,  and  effort  means  work. 
Work  is  not  a  curse,  it  is  the  prerogative  of 
intelligence,  the  only  means  to  manhood, 
and  the  measure  of  civilization.  Savages 
do  not  work.  The  growth  of  a  sentiment 
that  despises  work  is  an  appeal  from  civili- 
zation to  barbarism. 

I  would  not  be  understood  as  making  a 
sweeping  criticism  of  current  legislation 
along  these  lines.  I,  too,  rejoice  that  an 
awakened  conscience  has  outlawed  com- 
mercial standards  that  were  false  or  low 
and  that  an  awakened  humanity  has  de- 
creed that  the  working  and  living  condition 


14  AMHERST  COLLEGE 

of  our  citizens  must  be  worthy  of  true 
manhood  and  true  womanhood. 

I  agree  that  the  measure  of  success  is 
not  merchandise  but  character.  But  I  do 
criticise  those  sentiments,  held  in  all  too 
respectable  quarters,  that  our  economic 
system  is  fundamentally  wrong,  that  com- 
merce is  only  selfishness,  and  that  our  citi- 
zens, holding  the  hope  of  all  that  America 
means,  are  living  in  industrial  slavery.  I 
appeal  to  Amherst  men  to  reiterate  and 
sustain  the  Amherst  doctrine,  that  the  man 
who  builds  a  factory  builds  a  temple,  that 
the  man  who  works  there  worships  there, 
and  to  each  is  due,  not  scorn  and  blame, 
but  reverence  and  praise. 


BROCKTON  CHAMBER  OF  COMMERCE    15 


III 

BROCKTON  CHAMBER  OF  COMMERCE 
APRIL  11,  1916 

MAN'S  nature  drives  him  ever  onward.  He 
is  forever  seeking  development.  At  one 
time  it  may  be  by  the  chase,  at  another  by 
warfare,  and  again  by  the  quiet  arts  of 
peace  and  commerce,  but  something  within 
is  ever  calling  him  on  to  "replenish  the 
earth  and  subdue  it." 

It  may  be  of  little  importance  to  deter- 
mine at  any  time  just  where  we  are,  but  it 
is  of  the  utmost  importance  to  determine 
whither  we  are  going.  Set  the  course  aright 
and  time  must  bring  mankind  to  the  ulti- 
mate goal. 

We  are  living  in  a  commercial  age.  It  is 
often  designated  as  selfish  and  materialis- 
tic. We  are  told  that  everything  has  been 
commercialized.  They  say  it  has  not  been 
enough  that  this  spirit  should  dominate 


16  BROCKTON 

the  marts  of  trade,  it  has  spread  to  every 
avenue  of  human  endeavor,  to  our  arts, 
our  sciences  and  professions,  our  politics, 
our  educational  institutions  and  even  into 
the  pulpit;  and  because  of  this  there  are 
those  who  have  gone  so  far  in  their  criti- 
cism of  commercialism  as  to  advocate  the 
destruction  of  all  enterprise  and  the  aboli- 
tion of  all  property. 

Destructive  criticism  is  always  easy  be- 
cause, despite  some  campaign  oratory, 
some  of  us  are  not  yet  perfect.  But  con- 
structive criticism  is  not  so  easy.  The 
faults  of  commercialism,  like  many  other 
faults,  lie  in  the  use  we  make  of  it.  Before 
we  decide  upon  a  wholesale  condemnation 
of  the  most  noteworthy  spirit  of  modern 
times  it  would  be  well  to  examine  carefully 
what  that  spirit  has  done  to  advance  the 
welfare  of  mankind. 

Wherever  we  can  read  human  history, 
the  answer  is  always  the  same.  Where  com- 
merce has  flourished  there  civilization  has 


CHAMBER  OF  COMMERCE  17 

increased.  It  has  not  sufficed  that  men 
should  tend  their  flocks,  and  maintain 
themselves  in  comfort  on  their  industry 
alone,  however  great.  It  is  only  when 
the  exchange  of  products  begins  that  de- 
velopment follows.  This  was  the  case  in 
ancient  Babylon,  whose  records  of  trade 
and  banking  we  are  just  beginning  to 
read.  Their  merchandise  went  by  canal  and 
caravan  to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  It  was 
not  the  war  galleys,  but  the  merchant 
vessel  of  Phoenicia,  of  Tyre,  and  Carthage 
that  brought  them  civilization  and  power. 
To-day  it  is  not  the  battle  fleet,  but  the 
mercantile  marine  which  in  the  end  will 
determine  the  destiny  of  nations.  The  ad- 
vance of  our  own  land  has  been  due  to 
our  trade,  and  the  comfort  and  happi- 
ness of  our  people  are  dependent  on  our 
general  business  conditions.  It  is  only  a 
figure  of  poetry  that  "  wealth  accumulates 
and  men  decay."  Where  wealth  has  accu- 
mulated, there  the  arts  and  sciences  have 


18  BROCKTON 

flourished,  there  education  has  been  dif- 
fused, and  of  contemplation  liberty  has 
been  born.  The  progress  of  man  has  been 
measured  by  his  commercial  prosperity.  I 
believe  that  these  considerations  are  suffi- 
cient to  justify  our  business  enterprise  and 
activity,  but  there  are  still  deeper  reasons. 
I  have  intended  to  indicate  not  only 
that  commerce  is  an  instrument  of  great 
power,  but  that  commercial  development 
is  necessary  to  all  human  progress.  What, 
then,  of  the  prevalent  criticism?  Men  have 
mistaken  the  means  for  the  end.  It  is  not 
enough  for  the  individual  or  the  nation  to 
acquire  riches.  Money  will  not  purchase 
character  or  good  government.  We  are 
under  the  injunction  to  "replenish  the 
earth  and  subdue  it,"  not  so  much  because 
of  the  help  a  new  earth  will  be  to  us,  as  be- 
cause by  that  process  man  is  to  find  him- 
self and  thereby  realize  his  highest  destiny. 
Men  must  work  for  more  than  wages,  fac- 
tories must  turn  out  more  than  merchan- 


CHAMBER  OF  COMMERCE  19 

disc,  or  there  is  naught  but  black  despair 
ahead. 

If  material  rewards  be  the  only  measure 
of  success,  there  is  no  hope  of  a  peaceful 
solution  of  our  social  questions,  for  they 
will  never  be  large  enough  to  satisfy.  But 
such  is  not  the  case.  Men  struggle  for  ma- 
terial success  because  that  is  the  path,  the 
process,  to  the  development  of  character. 
We  ought  to  demand  economic  justice,  but 
most  of  all  because  it  is  justice.  We  must 
forever  realize  that  material  rewards  are 
limited  and  in  a  sense  they  are  only  inci- 
dental, but  the  development  of  character 
is  unlimited  and  is  the  only  essential.  The 
measure  of  success  is  not  the  quantity  of 
merchandise,  but  the  quality  of  manhood 
which  is  produced. 

These,  then,  are  the  justifying  concep- 
tions of  the  spirit  of  our  age;  that  com- 
merce is  the  foundation  of  human  progress 
and  prosperity  and  the  great  artisan  of 
human  character.  Let  us  dismiss  the  gen- 


20    BROCKTON  CHAMBER  OF  COMMERCE 

eral  indictment  that  has  all  too  long  hung 
over  business  enterprise.  While  we  con- 
tinue to  condemn,  unsparingly,  selfishness 
and  greed  and  all  trafficking  in  the  natural 
rights  of  man,  let  us  not  forget  to  respect 
thrift  and  industry  and  enterprise.  Let  us 
look  to  the  service  rather  than  to  the  re- 
ward. Then  shall  we  see  in  our  industrial 
army,  from  the  most  exalted  captain  to 
the  humblest  soldier  in  the  ranks,  a  pur- 
pose worthy  to  minister  to  the  highest 
needs  of  man  and  to  fulfil  the  hope  of  a 
fairer  day. 


AT  HOME  OF  DANIEL  WEBSTER     21 


IV 

AT  THE  HOME  OF  DANIEL  WEBSTER 

MARSHFIELD 

JULY  4,  1916 

HISTORY  is  revelation.  It  is  the  manifesta- 
tion in  human  affairs  of  a  "power  not  our- 
selves that  makes  for  righteousness."  Sav- 
ages have  no  history.  It  is  the  mark  of 
civilization.  This  New  England  of  ours 
slumbered  from  the  dawn  of  creation  until 
the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
not  unpeopled,  but  with  no  record  of  hu- 
man events  worthy  of  a  name.  Different 
races  came,  and  lived,  and  vanished,  but 
the  story  of  their  existence  has  little  more 
of  interest  for  us  than  the  story  the  natural- 
ist tells  of  the  animal  kingdom,  or  the  geol- 
ogist relates  of  the  formation  of  the  crust 
of  the  earth.  It  takes  men  of  larger  vision 
and  higher  inspiration,  with  a  power  to  im- 
part a  larger  vision  and  a  higher  inspira- 


22  AT  THE  HOME  OF 

tion  to  the  people,  to  make  history.  It  is 
not  a  negative,  but  a  positive  achievement. 
It  is  unconcerned  with  idolatry  or  despot- 
ism or  treason  or  rebellion  or  betrayal,  but 
bows  in  reverence  before  Moses  or  Hamp- 
den  or  Washington  or  Lincoln  or  the 
Light  that  shone  on  Calvary. 

July  4,  1776,  was  a  day  of  history  in  its 
high  and  true  significance.  Not  because  the 
underlying  principles  set  out  in  the  Dec- 
laration of  Independence  were  new;  they 
are  older  than  the  Christian  religion,  or 
Greek  philosophy,  nor  was  it  because  his- 
tory is  made  by  proclamation  or  declara- 
tion; history  is  made  only  by  action.  But 
it  was  an  historic  day  because  the  repre- 
sentatives of  three  millions  of  people  there 
vocalized  Concord  and  Lexington  and 
Bunker  Hill,  which  gave  notice  to  the 
world  that  they  were  acting,  and  proposed 
to  act,  and  to  found  an  independent  na- 
tion, on  the  theory  that  "all  men  are 
created  equal;  that  they  are  endowed 


DANIEL  WEBSTER,  MARSHFIELD     23 

by  their  Creator  with  certain  inalienable 
rights;  that  among  these  are  life,  liberty, 
and  the  pursuit  of  happiness."  The  won- 
der and  glory  of  the  American  people  is 
not  the  ringing  declaration  of  that  day, 
but  the  action,  then  already  begun,  and  in 
the  process  of  being  carried  out  in  spite  of 
every  obstacle  that  war  could  interpose, 
making  the  theory  of  freedom  and  equality 
a  reality.  We  revere  that  day  because  it 
marks  the  beginnings  of  independence, 
the  beginnings  of  a  constitution  that 
was  finally  to  give  universal  freedom  and 
equality  to  all  American  citizens,  the  be- 
ginnings of  a  government  that  was  to  rec- 
ognize beyond  all  others  the  power  and 
worth  and  dignity  of  man.  There  began 
the  first  of  governments  to  acknowledge 
that  it  was  founded  on  the  sovereignty  of 
the  people.  There  the  world  first  beheld 
the  revelation  of  modern  democracy. 

Democracy  is  not  a  tearing-down;  it  is 
a  building-up.  It  is  not  a  denial  of  the 


24  AT  THE  HOME  OF 

divine  right  of  kings;  it  supplements  that 
claim  with  the  assertion  of  the  divine  right 
of  all  men.  It  does  not  destroy;  it  fulfils.  It 
is  the  consummation  of  all  theories  of  gov- 
ernment, to  the  spirit  of  which  all  the  na- 
tions of  the  earth  must  yield.  It  is  the  great 
constructive  force  of  the  ages.  It  is  the 
alpha  and  omega  of  man's  relation  to  man, 
the  beginning  and  the  end.  There  is  and 
can  be  no  more  doubt  of  the  triumph  of 
democracy  in  human  affairs,  than  there 
is  of  the  triumph  of  gravitation  in  the 
physical  world;  the  only  question  is  how 
and  when.  Its  foundation  lays  hold  upon 
eternity. 

These  are  some  of  the  ideals  that  the 
founders  of  our  institutions  expressed,  in 
part  unconsciously,  on  that  momentous 
day  now  passed  by  one  hundred  and  forty 
years.  They  knew  that  ideals  do  not  main- 
tain themselves.  They  knew  that  they 
there  declared  a  purpose  which  would  be 
resisted  by  the  forces,  on  land  and  sea,  of 


DANIEL  WEBSTER,  MARSHFIELD    25 

the  mightiest  empire  of  the  earth.  Without 
the  resolution  of  the  people  of  the  Colo- 
nies to  resort  to  arms,  and  without  the 
guiding  military  genius  of  Washington,  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  would  be 
naught  in  history  but  the  vision  of  doc- 
trinaires, a  mockery  of  sounding  brass 
and  tinkling  cymbal.  Let  us  never  forget 
that  it  was  that  resolution  and  that  genius 
which  made  it  the  vitalizing  force  of  a  great 
nation.  It  takes  service  and  sacrifice  to 
maintain  ideals. 

But  it  is  far  more  than  the  Declaration 
of  Independence  that  brings  us  here  to-day. 
That  was,  indeed,  a  great  document.  It  was 
drawn  up  by  Thomas  Jefferson  when  he 
was  at  his  best.  It  was  the  product  of  men 
who  seemed  inspired.  No  greater  company 
ever  assembled  to  interpret  the  voice  of  the 
people  or  direct  the  destinies  of  a  nation. 
The  events  of  history  may  have  added  to  it, 
but  subtracted  nothing.  Wisdom  and  ex- 
perience have  increased  the  admiration  of 


26  AT  THE  HOME  OF 

it.  Time  and  critcism  have  not  shaken  it. 
It  stands  with  ordinance  and  law,  charter 
and  constitution,  prophecy  and  revelation, 
whether  we  read  them  in  the  history  of 
Babylon,  the  results  of  Runnymede,  the 
Ten  Commandments,  or  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount.  But,  however  worthy  of  our  rev- 
erence and  admiration,  however  preemi- 
nent, it  was  only  one  incident  of  a  great 
forward  movement  of  the  human  race,  of 
which  the  American  Revolution  was  itself 
only  a  larger  incident.  It  was  not  so  much  a 
struggle  of  the  Colonies  against  the  tyranny 
of  bad  government,  as  against  wrong  prin- 
ciples of  government,  and  for  self-govern- 
ment. It  was  man  realizing  himself.  It  was 
sovereignty  from  within  which  responded 
to  the  alarm  of  Paul  Revere  on  that  April 
night,  and  which  went  marching,  gun  in 
hand,  against  sovereignty  from  without, 
wherever  it  was  found  on  earth.  It  only 
paused  at  Concord,  or  Yorktown,  then 
marched  on  to  Paris,  to  London,  to  Mos- 


DANIEL  WEBSTER,  MARSHFIELD    27 

cow,  to  Pekin.  Against  it  the  powers  of 
privilege  and  the  forces  of  despotism  could 
not  prevail.  Superstition  and  sham  cannot 
stand  before  intelligence  and  ^reality.  The 
light  that  first  broke  over  the  thirteen 
Colonies  lying  along  the  Atlantic  Coast 
was  destined  to  illuminate  the  world.  It  has 
been  a  struggle  against  the  forces  of  dark- 
ness; victory  has  been  and  is  still  delayed 
in  some  quarters,  but  the  result  is  not  in 
doubt.  All  the  forces  of  the  universe  are 
ranged  on  the  side  of  democracy.  It  must 
prevail. 

In  the  train  of  this  idea  there  has  come 
to  man  a  long  line  of  collateral  blessings. 
Freedom  has  many  sides  and  angles.Human 
slavery  has  been  swept  away.  With  security 
of  personal  rights  has  come  security  of 
property  rights.  The  freedom  of  the  human 
mind  is  recognized  in  the  right  of  free 
speech  and  free  press.  The  public  schools 
have  made  education  possible  for  all,  and 
ignorance  a  disgrace.  A  most  significant 


28  AT  THE  HOME  OF 

development  of  respect  for  man  has  come 
to  be  respect  for  his  occupation.  It  is  not 
alone  for  the  learned  professions  that  great 
treasures  are  now  poured  out.  Technical, 
trade,  and  vocational  schools  for  teaching 
skill  in  occupations  are  fostered  and  nour- 
ished, with  the  same  care  as  colleges  and 
universities  for  the  teaching  of  sciences  and 
the  classics.  Democracy  not  only  ennobled 
man;  it  has  ennobled  industry.  In  politi- 
cal affairs  the  vote  of  the  humblest  has  long 
counted  for  as  much  as  the  vote  of  the 
most  exalted.  We  are  working  towards  the 
day  when,  in  our  industrial  life,  equal 
honor  shall  fall  to  equal  endeavor,  whether 
it  be  exhibited  in  the  office  or  in  the  shop. 
These  are  some  of  the  results  of  that 
great  world  movement,  which,  first  exhib- 
iting itself  in  the  Continental  Congress  of 
America,  carried  her  arms  to  victory, 
through  the  sacrifice  of  a  seven  years'  rev- 
olutionary war,  and  wrote  into  the  Treaty 
of  Paris  the  recognition  of  the  right  of  the 


DANIEL  WEBSTER,  MARSHFIELD    29 

people  to  rule:  since  which  days  existence 
on  this  planet  has  had  a  new  meaning;  a 
result  which,  changing  the  old  order  of 
things,  putting  the  race  under  the  control 
and  guidance  of  new  forces,  rescued  man 
from  every  thraldom,  but  laid  on  him  every 
duty. 

We  know  that  only  ignorance  and  super- 
stition seek  to  explain  events  by  fate  and 
destiny,  yet  there  is  a  fascination  in  such 
speculations  born,  perhaps,  of  human 
frailty.  How  happens  it  that  James  Otis 
laid  out  in  1762  the  then  almost  treasonable 
proposition  that  "Kings  were  made  for  the 
good  of  the  people,  and  not  the  people  for 
them,"  in  a  pamphlet  which  was  circulated 
among  the  Colonists?  What  school  had 
taught  Patrick  Henry  that  national  out- 
look which  he  expressed  in  the  opening  de- 
bates of  the  first  Continental  Congress  when 
he  said,  "I  am  not  a  Virginian,  but  an 
American,"  and  which  hurried  him  on  to 
the  later  cry  of  "Liberty  or  death?"  How 


30  AT  THE  HOME  OF 

was  it  that  the  filling  of  a  vacancy  sent 
Thomas  Jefferson  to  the  second  Continental 
Congress,  there  to  pen  the  immortal  Dec- 
laration we  this  day  celebrate?  No  other 
living  man  could  have  excelled  him  in  prep- 
aration for,  or  in  the  execution  of,  that 
great  task.  What  circumstance  put  the 
young  George  Washington  under  the  mili- 
tary instruction  of  a  former  army  officer, 
and  then  gave  him  years  of  training  to  lead 
the  Continental  forces?  What  settled  Ethan 
Allen  in  the  wilderness  of  the  Green  Moun- 
tains ready  to  strike  Ticonderoga?  Whence 
came  that  power  to  draft  state  papers,  in  a 
new  and  unlettered  land,  which  compelled 
the  admiration  of  the  cultured  Earl  of 
Chatham?  What  lengthened  out  the  days 
of  Benjamin  Franklin  that  he  might  nego- 
tiate the  Treaty  of  Paris?  What  influence 
sent  the  miraculous  voice  of  Daniel  Web- 
ster from  the  outlying  settlements  of  New 
Hampshire  to  rouse  the  land  with  his  ap- 
peal for  Liberty  and  Union?  And  finally 


DANIEL  WEBSTER,  MARSHFIELD    31 

who  raised  up  Lincoln,  to  lead,  to  inspire, 
and  to  die,  that  the  opening  assertion  of  the 
Declaration  might  stand  at  last  fulfilled? 

These  thoughts  are  overpowering.  But  let 
us  beware  of  fate  and  destiny.  Barbarians 
have  decreased,  but  barbarism  still  exists. 
Rome  boasted  the  name  of  the  Eternal 
City.  It  was  but  eight  hundred  years  from 
the  sack  of  the  city  by  one  tribe  of  bar- 
barians to  the  sack  of  the  city  by  another 
tribe  of  barbarians.  Between  lay  something 
akin  to  a  democratic  commonwealth.  Then 
games,  and  bribes  for  the  populace,  with 
dictators  and  Caesars,  while  later  the 
Praetorian  Guard  sold  the  royal  purple  to 
the  highest  bidder.  After  which  came 
Alaric,  the  Goth,  and  night.  Since  when 
democracy  lay  dormant  for  some  fifteen 
centuries.  We  may  claim  with  reason  that 
our  Nation  has  had  the  guidance  of  Provi- 
dence; we  may  know  that  our  form  of 
government  must  ultimately  prevail  upon 
earth;  but  what  guaranty  have  we  that  it 


32  AT  THE  HOME  OF 

shall  be  maintained  here?  What  proof  that 
some  unlineal  hand,  some  barbarism,  with- 
out or  within,  shall  not  wrench  the  sceptre 
of  democracy  from  our  grasp?  The  rule  of 
princes,  the  privilege  of  birth,  has  come 
down  through  the  ages;  the  rule  of  the  peo- 
ple has  not  yet  marked  a  century  and  a 
half.  There  is  no  absolute  proof,  no  positive 
guaranty,  but  there  is  hope  and  high  ex- 
pectation, and  the  path  is  not  uncharted. 

It  may  be  some  help  to  know  that,  how- 
ever much  of  glory,  there  is  no  magic  in 
American  democracy.  Let  us  examine  some 
more  of  this  Declaration  of  ours,  and  exam- 
ine it  in  the  light  of  the  events  of  those  sol- 
emn days  in  which  it  was  adopted. 

Men  of  every  clime  have  lavished  much 
admiration  upon  the  first  part  of  the  Dec- 
laration of  Independence,  and  rightly  so, 
for  it  marked  the  entry  of  new  forces  and 
new  ideals  into  human  affairs.  Its  admirers 
have  sometimes  failed  in  their  attempts  to 
live  by  it,  but  none  have  successfully  dis- 


DANIEL  WEBSTER,  MARSHFIELD     33 

puted  its  truth.  It  is  the  realization  of  the 
true  glory  and  worth  of  man,  which,  when 
once  admitted,  wrought  vast  changes  that 
have  marked  all  history  since  its  day.  All 
this  relates  to  natural  rights,  fascinating  to 
dwell  upon,  but  not  sufficient  to  live*  by. 
The  signers  knew  that  well;  more  impor- 
tant still,  the  people  whom  they  repre- 
sented knew  it.  So  they  did  not  stop  there. 
After  asserting  that  man  was  to  stand  out 
in  the  universe  with  a  new  and  supreme  im- 
portance, and  that  governments  were  in- 
stituted to  insure  life,  liberty,  and  the  pur- 
suit of  happiness,  they  did  not  shrink  from 
the  logical  conclusion  of  this  doctrine.  They 
knew  that  the  duty  between  the  citizen 
and  the  State  was  reciprocal.  They  knew 
that  the  State  called  on  its  citizens  for  their 
property  and  their  lives;  they  laid  down 
the  proposition  that  government  was  to 
protect  the  citizen  in  his  life,  liberty,  and 
pursuit  of  happiness.  At  some  expense?  Yes. 
Those  prudent  and  thrifty  men  had  no 


34  AT  THE  HOME  OF 

false  notions  about  incurring  expense.  They 
knew  the  value  of  increasing  their  material 
resources,  but  they  knew  that  prosperity  was 
a  means,  not  an  end.  At  cost  of  life?  Yes. 
These  sons  of  the  Puritans,  of  the  Hugue- 
nots, of  the  men  of  Londonderry,  braved 
exile  to  secure  peace,  but  they  were  not 
afraid  to  die  in  defence  of  their  convictions. 
They  put  no  limit  on  what  the  State  must 
do  for  the  citizen  in  his  hour  of  need.  While 
they  required  all,  they  gave  all.  Let  us  read 
their  conclusion  in  their  own  words,  and 
mark  its  simplicity  and  majesty:  "And  for 
the  support  of  this  Declaration,  with  a  firm 
reliance  on  the  protection  of  Divine  Prov- 
idence, we  mutually  pledge  to  each  other 
our  lives,  our  fortunes,  and  our  sacred 
honor."  There  is  no  cringing  reservation 
here,  no  alternative,  and  no  delay.  Here  is 
the  voice  of  the  plain  men  of  Middlesex, 
promising  Yorktown,  promising  Appo- 
mattox. 

The  doctrine  of  the  Declaration  of  In- 


DANIEL  WEBSTER,  MARSHFIELD    35 

dependence,  predicated  upon  the  glory  of 
man,  and  the  corresponding  duty  of  soci- 
ety, is  that  the  rights  of  citizens  are  to  be 
protected  with  every  power  and  resource 
of  the  State,  and  a  government  that  does 
any  less  is  false  to  the  teachings  of  that 
great  document,  of  the  name  American. 
Beyond  this,  the  principle  that  it  is  the  ob- 
ligation of  the  people  to  rise  and  overthrow 
government  which  fails  in  these  respects. 
But  above  all,  the  call  to  duty,  the  pledge 
of  fortune  and  of  life,  nobility  of  character 
through  nobility  of  action:  this  is  Ameri- 
canism. 

"  Woe  for  us  if  we  forget,  we  that  hold  by  these." 
Herein  are  the  teachings  of  this  day  — 
touching  the  heights  of  man's  glory  and  the 
depths  of  man's  duty.  Here  lies  the  path  to 
national  preservation,  and  there  is  no  other. 
Education,  the  progress  of  science,  commer- 
cial prosperity,  yes,  and  peace,  all  these  and 
their  accompanying  blessings  are  worthy 
and  commendable  objects  of  attainment. 


36  AT  THE  HOME  OF 

But  these  are  not  the  end,  whether  these 
come  or  no;  the  end  lies  in  action  —  ac- 
tion in  accord  with  the  eternal  principles  of 
the  Declaration  of  Independence;  the  words 
of  the  Continental  Congress,  but  the  deeds 
of  the  Army  of  the  Revolution. 

This  is  the  meaning  of  America.  And  it 
is  all  our  own.  Doctrinaires  and  vision- 
aries may  shudder  at  it.  The  privilege  of 
birth  may  jeer  at  it.  The  practical  politi- 
cian may  scoff  at  it.  But  the  people  of  the 
Nation  respond  to  it,  and  march  away  to 
Mexico  to  the  rescue  of  a  colored  trooper  as 
they  marched  of  old  to  the  rescue  of  an 
emperor.  The  assertion  of  human  rights  is 
naught  but  a  call  to  human  sacrifice.  This 
is  yet  the  spirit  of  the  American  people. 
Only  so  long  as  this  flame  burns  shall  we 
endure  and  the  light  of  liberty  be  shed  over 
the  nations  of  the  earth.  May  the  increase 
of  the  years  increase  for  America  only  the 
devotion  to  this  spirit,  only  the  intensity  of 
this  flame,  and  the  eternal  truth  of  Low- 
ell's lines: 


37 


'  What  were  our  lives  without  thee? 
What  all  our  lives  to  save  thee  ? 
We  reck  not  what  we  gave  thee; 
We  will  not  dare  to  doubt  thee, 
But  ask  whatever  else  and  we  will  dare." 


1«>  •"  A  .)•>  y-i 
3  "J  '3  O  ft 


38  RIVERSIDE 


V 

RIVERSIDE 

AUGUST  28,  1916 

IT  may  be  that  there  would  be  votes  for  the 
Republican  Party  in  the  promise  of  low 
taxes  and  vanishing  expenditures.  I  can  see 
an  opportunity  for  its  candidates  to  pose  as 
the  apostles  of  retrenchment  and  reform.  I 
am  not  one  of  those  who  believe  votes  are 
to  be  won  by  misrepresentations,  skilful 
presentations  of  half  truths,  and  plausible 
deductions  from  false  premises.  Good  gov- 
ernment cannot  be  found  on  the  bargain- 
counter.  We  have  seen  samples  of  bargain- 
counter  government  hi  the  past  when  low 
tax  rates  were  secured  by  increasing  the 
bonded  debt  for  current  expenses  or  refus- 
ing to  keep  our  institutions  up  to  the  stand- 
ard in  repairs,  extensions,  equipment,  and 
accommodations.  I  refuse,  and  the  Repub- 
lican Party  refuses,  to  endorse  that  method 


RIVERSIDE  39 

of  sham  and  shoddy  economy.  New  proj- 
ects can  wait,  but  the  commitments  of  the 
Commonwealth  must  be  maintained.  We 
cannot  curtail  the  usual  appropriations  or 
the  care  of  mothers  with  dependent  chil- 
dren or  the  support  of  the  poor,  the  insane, 
and  the  infirm.  The  Democratic  programme 
of  cutting  the  State  tax,  by  vetoing  appro- 
priations of  the  utmost  urgency  for  im- 
provements and  maintenance  costs  of  in- 
stitutions and  asylums  of  the  unfortunates 
of  the  State,  cannot  be  the  example  for  a 
Republican  administration.  The  result  has 
been  that  our  institutions  are  deficient  in 
resources  —  even  in  sleeping  accommoda- 
tions—  and  it  will  take  years  to  restore 
them  to  the  old-time  Republican  efficiency. 
Our  party  will  have  no  part  in  a  scheme  of 
economy  which  adds  to  the  misery  of  the 
wards  of  the  Commonwealth  —  the  sick, 
the  insane,  and  the  unfortunate;  those  who 
are  too  weak  even  to  protest. 

Because  I  know  these  conditions  I  know 


40  RIVERSIDE 

a  Republican  administration  would  face  an 
increasing  State  tax  rather  than  not  see 
them  remedied. 

The  Republican  Party  lit  the  fire  of  prog- 
ress in  Massachusetts.  It  has  tended  it 
faithfully.  It  will  not  flicker  now.  It  has 
provided  here  conditions  of  employment, 
and  safeguards  f or.health,  that  are  surpassed 
nowhere  on  earth.  There  will  be  no  back- 
ward step.  The  reuniting  of  the  Republican 
Party  means  no  reaction  in  the  protection 
of  women  and  children  in  our  industrial 
life.  These  laws  are  settled.  These  princi- 
ples are  established.  Minor  modifications 
are  possible,  but  the  foundations  are  not  to 
be  disturbed.  The  advance  may  have  been 
too  rapid  in  some  cases,  but  there  can  be  no 
retreat.  That  is  the  position  of  the  great 
majority  of  those  who  constitute  our  party. 

We  recognize  there  is  need  of  relief  — 
need  to  our  industries,  need  to  our  popula- 
tion in  manufacturing  centres;  but  it  must 
come  from  construction,  not  from  destruc- 


RIVERSIDE  41 

tion.  Put  an  administration  on  Beacon  Hill 
that  can  conserve  our  resources,  that  can 
protect  us  from  further  injuries,  until  a 
national  Republican  policy  can  restore 
those  conditions  of  confidence  and  pros- 
perity under  which  our  advance  began  and 
under  which  it  can  be  resumed. 
.  This  makes  the  coming  State  election 
take  on  a  most  important  aspect  —  not 
that  it  can  furnish  all  the  needed  relief,  but 
that  it  will  increase  the  probability  of  a 
complete  relief  in  the  near  future  if  it  be 
crowned  with  Republican  victory. 


42  AT  THE  HOME  OF 


VI 

AT  THE  HOME  OF  AUGUSTUS  P. 
GARDNER,  HAMILTON 

SEPTEMBER,  1916 

STANDING  here  in  the  presence  of  our  host, 
our  thoughts  naturally  turn  to  a  discussion 
of  "  Preparedness."  I  do  not  propose  to  over- 
look that  issue;  but  I  shall  offer  suggestions 
of  another  kind  of  "preparedness."  Not 
that  I  shrink  from  full  and  free  considera- 
tion of  the  military  needs  of  our  country. 
Nor  do  I  agree  that  it  is  now  necessary  to 
remain  silent  regarding  the  domestic  or 
foreign  relations  of  this  Nation. 

I  agree  that  partisanship  should  stop  at 
the  boundary  line,  but  I  assert  that  patriot- 
ism should  begin  there.  Others,  however, 
have  covered  this  field,  and  I  leave  it  to 
them  and  to  you. 

I  do,  however,  propose  to  discuss  the  "  pre- 
paredness" of  the  State  to  care  for  its  un- 


AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER,  HAMILTON    43 

fortunates.  And  I  propose  to  do  this  with- 
out any  party  bias  and  without  blame  upon 
any  particular  individual,  but  in  just  criti- 
cism of  a  system. 

In  Massachusetts,  we  are  citizens  before 
we  are  partisans.  The  good  name  of  the 
Commonwealth  is  of  more  moment  to  us 
than  party  success.  But  unfortunately,  be- 
cause of  existing  conditions,  that  good  name, 
in  one  particular  at  least,  is  now  in  jeopardy. 

Massachusetts,  for  twenty  years,  has 
been  able  honestly  to  boast  of  the  care  it 
has  bestowed  upon  her  sick,  poor,  and  in- 
sane. Her  institutions  have  been  regarded 
as  models  throughout  the  world.  We  are 
falling  from  that  proud  estate;  crowded 
housing  conditions,  corridors  used  for  sleep- 
ing purposes,  are  not  only  not  unusual,  but 
are  coming  to  be  the  accepted  standard. 
The  heads  of  asylums  complain  that  main- 
tenance and  the  allowance  for  food  supply 
and  supervision  are  being  skimped. 

On  August  1  of  this  year,  the  institu- 


44  AT  THE  HOME  OF 

tions  throughout  the  State  housed  more 
than  700  patients  above  what  they  were  de- 
signed to  accommodate,  and  I  am  told  the 
crowding  is  steadily  increasing.  That  is  one 
reason  I  have  been  at  pains  to  set  forth 
that  I  do  not  see  the  way  clear  to  make  a 
radical  reduction  in  the  annual  State  bud- 
get. I  now  repeat  that  declaration,  in  spite 
of  contradiction,  because  I  know  the  citi- 
zens of  this  State  have  no  desire  for  econo- 
mies gained  at  such  a  sacrifice.  The  people 
have  no  stomach  for  retrenchment  of  that 
sort. 

A  charge  of  overcrowding,  which  must 
mean  a  lack  of  care,  is  not  to  be  carelessly 
made.  You  are  entitled  to  facts,  as  well  as 
phrases.  I  gave  the  whole  number  now  con- 
fined in  our  institutions  above  the  stated 
capacity  as  over  700.  About  August  1,  Dan- 
vers  had  1530  in  an  institution  of  1350  ca- 
pacity. Northampton,  my  home  town,  had 
913,  in  a  hospital  built  for  819.  In  Boston 
State  Hospital,  there  were  1572,  where  the 


AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER,  HAMILTON    45 

capacity  was  1406.  Westboro  had  1260  in- 
mates, with  capacity  for  1161,  and  Medfield 
had  1615,  where  the  capacity  was  1542. 
These  capacities  are  given  from  official  re- 
corded accommodations. 

This  was  not  the  practice  of  the  past,  and 
there  can  be  no  question  as  to  where  the 
responsibility  rests.  The  General  Court  has 
done  its  best,  but  there  has  been  a  halt 
elsewhere.  A  substantial  appropriation  was 
made  for  a  new  State  Hospital  for  the  Met- 
ropolitan District,  and  an  additional  ap- 
propriation for  a  new  institution  for  the 
feeble-minded  in  the  western  part  of  the 
State.  In  its  desire  to  hasten  matters,  the 
legislature  went  even  further  and  granted 
money  for  plans  for  a  new  hospital  in  the 
Metropolitan  District,  to  relieve  part  of  the 
outside  congestion,  but  the  needed  relief  is 
still  in  the  future. 

I  feel  the  time  has  come  when  the  people 
must  assert  themselves  and  show  that  they 
will  tolerate  no  delay  and  no  parsimony  in 


46    AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER,  HAMILTON 

the  care  of  our  unfortunates.  Restore  the 
fame  of  our  State  in  the  handling  of  these 
problems  to  its  former  lustre. 

I  repeat  that  this  is  not  partisan.  I  am 
not  criticising  individuals.  I  am  denouncing 
a  system.  When  you  substitute  patronage 
for  patriotism,  administration  breaks  down. 
We  need  more  of  the  Office  Desk  and  less 
of  the  Show  Window  in  politics.  Let  men 
in  office  substitute  the  midnight  oil  for  the 
limelight.  Let  Massachusetts  return  to  the 
sound  business  methods  which  were  exem- 
plified in  the  past  by  such  Democrats  in  the 
East  as  Governor  Gaston  and  Governor 
Douglas,  and  by  such  Republicans  in  the 
West  as  Governor  Robinson  and  Governor 
Crane. 

Above  all,  let  us  not,  in  our  haste  to  pre- 
pare for  war,  forget  to  prepare  for  peace. 
The  issue  is  with  you.  You  can,  by  your 
votes,  show  what  system  you  stamp  with 
the  approval  of  enlightened  Massachusetts 
Public  Opinion. 


LAFAYETTE  BANQUET,  FALL  RIVER    47 


VII 

LAFAYETTE  BANQUET,  FALL  RIVER 

SEPTEMBER  4,  1916 

SEEMINGLY  trifling  events  oft  carry  in 
their  train  great  consequences.  The  firing  of 
a  gun  in  the  backwoods  of  Pennsylvania, 
Macaulay  tells  us,  started  the  Seven  Years' 
War  which  set  the  world  in  conflagration, 
causing  men  to  fight  each  other  on  every 
shore  of  the  seven  seas  and  giving  new  mas- 
ters to  the  most  ancient  of  empires.  We  see 
to-day  fifteen  nations  engaged  in  the  most 
terrific  war  in  the  history  of  the  human 
race  and  trace  its  origin  to  the  bullet  of  a 
madman  fired  in  the  Balkans.  It  is  true 
that  the  flintlock  gun  at  Lexington  was  not 
the  first,  nor  yet  the  last,  to  fire  a  "shot 
heard  round  the  world."  It  was  not  the 
distance  it  travelled,  but  the  message  it 
carried  which  has  marked  it  out  above  all 
other  human  events.  It  was  the  character 


48    LAFAYETTE  BANQUET,  FALL  RIVER 

of  that  message  which  claimed  the  atten- 
tion of  him  we  this  day  honor,  in  the  far-off 
fortress  of  the  now  famous  Metz;  it  was 
because  it  roused  in  the  listener  a  sympa- 
thetic response  that  it  was  destined  to  link 
forever  the  events  of  Concord  and  Lex- 
ington and  Bunker  Hill  and  Dorchester 
Heights,  in  our  Commonwealth,  with  the 
name  of  Lafayette. 

For  there  was  a  new  tone  in  those  Massa- 
chusetts guns.  It  was  not  the  old  lust  of 
conquest,  not  the  sullen  roar  of  hatred  and 
revenge,  but  a  higher,  clearer  note  of  a  peo- 
ple asserting  their  inalienable  sovereignty. 
It  is  a  happy  circumstance  that  one  of  our 
native-born,  Benjamin  Franklin,  was  in- 
strumental in  bringing  Lafayette  to  Amer- 
ica; but  beyond  that  it  is  fitting  at  this 
time  to  give  a  thought  to  our  Common- 
wealth because  his  ideals,  his  character,  his 
We,  were  all  in  sympathy  with  that  great 
Revolution  which  was  begun  within  her 
borders  and  carried  to  a  successful  con- 


LAFAYETTE  BANQUET,  FALL  RIVER    49 

elusion  by  the  sacrifice  of  her  treasure  and 
her  blood.  It  was  not  the  able  legal  argu- 
ment of  James  Otis  against  the  British 
Writs  of  Assistance,  nor  the  petitions  and 
remonstrances  of  the  Colonists  to  the  Brit- 
ish throne,  admirable  though  they  were, 
that  aroused  the  approbation  and  brought 
his  support  to  our  cause.  It  was  not  alone 
that  he  agreed  with  the  convictions  of  the 
Continental  Congress.  He  saw  in  the  exam- 
ple of  Massachusetts  a  people  who  would 
shrink  from  no  sacrifice  to  defend  rights 
which  were  beyond  price.  It  was  not  the 
Tories,  fleeing  to  Canada,  that  attracted 
him.  It  was  the  patriots,  bearing  arms, 
and  he  brought  them  not  a  pen  but  a  sword. 
"Resistance  to  tyranny  is  obedience  to 
law,"  and  "obedience  to  law  is  liberty." 
Those  are  the  foundations  of  the  Common- 
wealth. It  was  these  principles  in  action 
which  appealed  to  that  young  captain  of 
dragoons  and  brought  the  sword  and  re- 
sources of  the  aristocrat  to  battle  for  de- 


50    LAFAYETTE  BANQUET,  FALL  RIVER 

mocracy.  I  love  to  think  of  his  connection 
with  our  history.  I  love  to  think  of  him  at 
the  dedication  of  the  Bunker  Hill  Monu- 
ment receiving  the  approbation  of  the  Na- 
tion from  the  lips  of  Daniel  Webster.  I  love 
to  think  of  the  long  line  of  American  citi- 
zens of  French  blood  in  our  Commonwealth 
to-day,  ready  to  defend  the  principles  he 
fought  for,  "Liberty  under  the  ;Law,"  citi- 
zens who,  like  him,  look  not  with  apology, 
but  with  respect  and  approval  and  admira- 
tion on  that  sentiment  inscribed  on  the 
white  flag  of  Massachusetts,  "Ense  petit 
placidam  sub  libertate  quietem"  (With  a 
sword  she  seeks  secure  peace  under  liberty). 


NORFOLK  REPUBLICAN  CLUB,  BOSTON  51 


VIII 

NORFOLK  REPUBLICAN  CLUB,  BOSTON 
OCTOBER  9,  1916 

LAST  night  at  Somerville  I  spoke  on  some 
of  the  fundamental  differences  between  the 
Republican  and  Democratic  policies,  and 
showed  how  we  were  dependent  on  Repub- 
lican principles  as  a  foundation  on  which  to 
erect  any  advance  in  our  social  and  eco- 
nomic welfare. 

This  year  the  Republican  Party  has 
adopted  a  very  advanced  platform.  That 
was  natural,  for  we  have  always  been  the 
party  of  progress,  and  have  given  our  atten- 
tion to  that,  when  we  were  not  engaged  in 
a  life-and-death  struggle  to  overcome  the 
fallacies  put  forth  by  our  opponents,  with 
which  we  are  all  so  familiar.  The  result  has 
been  that  here  in  Massachusetts,  where 
our  party  has  ever  been  strong,  and  where 
we  have  framed  legislation  for  more  than 


52  NORFOLK  REPUBLICAN  CLUB,  BOSTON 

fifty  years,  more  progress  has  been  made 
along  the  lines  of  humanitarian  legislation 
than  in  any  other  State.  We  have  felt  free 
to  call  on  our  industries  to  make  large  out- 
lays along  these  lines  because  we  have  fur- 
nished them  with  the  advantages  of  a  pro- 
tective tariff  and  an  honest  and  efficient 
state  government.  The  consequences  have 
been  that  in  this  State  the  hours  and  condi- 
tions of  labor  have  been  better  than  any- 
where else  on  earth.  Those  provisions  for 
safety,  sanitation,  compensations  for  acci- 
dents, and  for  good  living  conditions  have 
now  been  almost  entirely  worked  out.  There 
remains,  however,  the  condition  of  sickness, 
age,  misfortune,  lack  of  employment,  or 
some  other  cause,  that  temporarily  renders 
people  unable  to  care  for  themselves.  Our 
platform  has  taken  up  this  condition. 

We  have  long  been  familiar  with  insur- 
ance to  cover  losses.  You  will  readily  recall 
the  different  kinds.  Formerly  it  was  only 
used  in  commerce,  by  the  well-to-do.  Ke- 


NORFOLK  REPUBLICAN  CLUB,  BOSTON  53 

cently  it  has  been  adapted  to  the  use  of  all 
our  people  by  the  great  industrial  com- 
panies which  have  been  very  successful. 
Our  State  has  adopted  a  system  of  savings- 
bank  insurance,  thus  reducing  the  expense. 
Now,  social  insurance  will  not  be,  under  a 
Republican  interpretation,  any  new  form  of 
outdoor  relief,  some  new  scheme  of  living 
on  the  town.  It  will  be  an  extension  of  the 
old  familiar  principle  to  the  needs  at  hand, 
and  so  popularized  as  to  meet  the  require- 
ments of  our  times. 

It  ought  to  be  understood,  however, 
that  there  can  be  no  remedy  for  lack  of  in- 
dustry and  thrift,  secured  by  law.  It  ought 
to  be  understood  that  no  scheme  of  insur- 
ance and  no  scheme  of  government  aid  is 
likely  to  make  us  all  prosperous.  And  above 
all,  these  remedies  must  go  forward  on  the 
firm  foundation  of  an  independent,  self- 
supporting,  self-governing  people.  But  we 
do  honestly  put  forward  a  proposition  for 
the  relief  of  misfortune. 


54  NORFOLK  REPUBLICAN  CLUB,  BOSTON 

The  Republican  Party  is  proposing  hu- 
manitarian legislation  to  build  up  character, 
to  establish  independence,  not  pauperism; 
it  will  in  the  future,  as  in  the  past,  ever 
stand  opposed  to  the  establishment  of  one 
class  who  shall  live  on  the  Government, 
and  another  class  who  shall  pay  the  taxes. 
To  those  who  fear  we  are  turning  Socialists, 
and  to  those  who  think  we  are  withholding 
just  and  desirable  public  aid  and  support,  I 
say  that  government  under  the  Republican 
Party  will  continue  in  the  future  to  be  so 
administered  as  to  breed  not  mendicants, 
but  men.  Humanitarian  legislation  is  going 
to  be  the  handmaid  of  character. 


ON  THE  HIGH  COST  OF  LIVING     55 


IX 

PUBLIC  MEETING  ON  THE  HIGH  COST 
OF  LIVING,  FANEUIL  HALL 

DECEMBER  9,  1916 

THE  great  aim  of  American  institutions  is 
the  protection  of  the  individual.  That  is 
the  principle  which  lies  at  the  foundation 
of  Anglo-Saxon  liberty.  It  matters  not  with 
what  power  the  individual  is  assailed,  nor 
whether  that  power  is  represented  by 
wealth  or  place  or  numbers;  against  it  the 
humblest  American  citizen  has  the  right  to 
the  protection  of  his  Government  by  every 
force  that  Government  can  command. 

This  right  would  be  but  half  expressed 
if  it  ran  only  to  a  remedy  after  a  wrong  is 
inflicted;  it  should  and  does  run  to  the  pre- 
vention of  a  wrong  which  is  threatened.  We 
find  our  citizens,  to-day,  not  so  much  suf- 
fering from  the  high  cost  of  living,  though 
that  is  grievous  enough,  as  threatened  with 


56     ON  THE  HIGH  COST  OF  LIVING 

an  increasing  cost  which  will  bring  suffering 
and  misery  to  a  large  body  of  our  inhab- 
itants. So  we  come  here  not  only  to  discuss 
providing  a  remedy  for  what  is  now  exist- 
ing, but  some  protection  to  ward  off  what 
is  threatening  to  be  a  worse  calamity.  We 
shall  utterly  fail  of  our  purpose  to  provide 
relief  unless  we  look  at  things  as  they  are. 
It  is  useless  to  indulge  in  indiscriminate 
abuse.  We  must  not  confuse  the  innocent 
with  the  guilty;  it  must  be  our  object  to 
allay  suspicion,  not  to  create  it.  The  great 
body  of  our  tradespeople  are  honest  and 
conscientious,  anxious  to  serve  their  cus- 
tomers for  a  fair  return  for  their  service.  We 
want  their  cooperation  in  our  pursuit  of 
facts;  we  want  to  cooperate  with  them  in 
proposing  and  securing  a  remedy.  We  do 
not  deny  the  existence  of  economic  laws, 
nor  the  right  to  profit  by  a  change  of  con- 
ditions. 

But  we  do  claim  the  right  and  duty  of 
the  Government  to  investigate  and  punish 


ON  THE  HIGH  COST  OP  LIVING     57 

any  artificial  creation  of  high  prices  by 
means  of  illegal  monopolies  or  restraints  of 
trade.  And  above  all,  we  claim  the  right  of 
publicity.  That  is  a  remedy  with  an  arm 
longer  and  stronger  than  that  of  the  law. 
Let  us  know  what  is  going  on  and  the  rem- 
edy will  provide  itself.  In  working  along 
this  line  we  shall  have  great  help  from  the 
newspapers.  The  American  people  are  pre- 
pared to  meet  any  reasonable  burden;  they 
are  not  asking  for  charity  or  favor;  fair 
prices  and  fair  profits  they  will  gladly  pay; 
but  they  demand  information  that  they  are 
fair,  and  an  immediate  reduction  if  they 
are  not. 

The  Commonwealth  has  just  provided 
money  for  an  investigation  by  a  competent 
commission.  Its  Police  Department,  its 
Law  Department,  are  also  at  the  service 
of  our  citizens.  Let  us  refrain  from  suspi- 
cion; let  us  refrain  from  all  indiscriminate 
blame;  but  let  us  present  at  once  to  the 
proper  authorities  all  facts  and  all  evidence 


58     ON  THE  HIGH  COST  OF  LIVING 

of  unfair  practices.  Let  all  our  merchants, 
of  whatever  degree,  assist  in  ijbis  work  for 
tHe  public  good  and  let  the  individual  see 
and  feel  that  all  his  rights  are  protected  by 
his  Government. 


THE  PROVIDENT  INSTITUTION      59 


X 

ONE  HUNDREDTH  ANNIVERSARY  DIN- 
NER OF  THE  PROVIDENT  INSTITUTION 

FOR  SAVINGS 
DECEMBER  13,  1916 

THE  history  of  the  institution  we  here  cele- 
brate reaches  back  more  than  one  third  of 
the  way  to  the  landing  of  the  Mayflower 
—  back  to  the  day  of  the  men  who  signed 
the  Declaration  of  Independence,  who  saw 
Prescott,  Pomeroy,  Stark,  and  Warren  at 
Bunker  Hill,  who  followed  Washington  and 
his  generals  from  Dochester  Heights  to 
Yorktown,  and  saw  the  old  Bay  Colony 
become  the  Commonwealth  of  Massachu- 
setts. They  had  seen  a  nation  in  the  making. 
They  founded  their  government  on  the 
rights  of  the  individual.  They  had  no  hesi- 
tation in  defending  those  rights  against  the 
invasion  of  a  British  King  and  Parliament, 


60      THE  PROVIDENT  INSTITUTION 

by  a  Revolutionary  War,  nor  in  criticis- 
ing their  own  Government  at  Washington 
when  they  thought  an  invasion  of  those 
rights  was  again  threatened  by  the  prelim- 
inaries and  the  prosecution  of  the  War  of 
1812.  They  had  made  the  Commonwealth. 
They  understood  its  Government.  They 
knew  it  was  a  part  of  themselves,  their 
own  organization.  They  had  not  acquired 
the  state  of  mind  that  enabled  them  to 
stand  aloof  and  regard  government  as 
something  apart  and  separate  from  the 
people.  It  would  never  have  occurred  to 
them  that  they  could  not  transact  for  them- 
selves any  other  business  just  as  well  as 
they  could  transact  for  themselves  the 
business  of  government.  They  were  the 
men  who  had  fought  a  war  to  limit  the 
power  of  government  and  enlarge  the  priv- 
ileges of  the  individual. 

It  was  the  same  spirit  that  made  Massa- 
chusetts that  made  the  Provident  Institu- 
tion for  Savings.  What  the  men  of  that  day 


FOR  SAVINGS  61 

wanted  they  made  for  themselves.  They 
would  never  have  thought  of  asking  Con- 
gress to  keep  their  money  in  the  post-office. 
They  did  not  want  their  commercial  privi- 
leges interfered  with  by  having  the  Govern- 
ment buy  and  sell  for  them.  They  had  the 
self-reliance  and  the  independence  to  prefer 
to  do  those  things  for  themselves.  This  is 
the  spirit  that  founded  Massachusetts,  the 
spirit  that  has  seen  your  bank  grow  until  it 
could  now  probably  purchase  all  there  was 
of  property  in  the  Commonwealth  when  it 
began  its  existence.  I  want  to  see  that  spirit 
still  preeminent  here.  I  want  to  see  a  deeper 
realization  on  the  part  of  the  people  that 
this  is  their  Commonwealth,  their  Govern- 
ment; that  they  control  it,  that  they  pay  its 
expenses,  that  it  is,  after  all,  only  a  part  of 
themselves;  that  any  attempt  to  shift  upon 
it  their  duties,  their  responsibilities,  or  their 
support  will  in  the  end  only  delude,  de- 
grade, impoverish,  and  enslave.  Your  in- 
stitution points  the  only  way,  through 


62      THE  PROVIDENT  INSTITUTION 

self-control,  self-denial,  and  self-support, 
to  self-government,  to  independence,  to  a 
more  generous  liberty,  and  to  a  firmer  es- 
tablishment of  individual  rights. 


ASSOCIATED  INDUSTRIES  DINNER    63 


XI 

ASSOCIATED  INDUSTRIES  DINNER 
BOSTON 

DECEMBER  15,  1916 

DURING  the  past  few  years  we  have  ques- 
tioned the  soundness  of  many  principles 
that  had  for  a  long  time  been  taken  for 
granted.  We  have  examined  the  founda- 
tions of  our  institutions  of  government.  We 
have  debated  again  the  theories  of  the  men 
who  wrote  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
the  Constitution  of  the  Nation,  and  laid 
down  the  fundamental  law  of  our  own  Com- 
monwealth. Along  with  this  examination  of 
our  form  of  government  has  gone  an  exami- 
nation of  our  social,  industrial,  and  econo- 
mic system.  What  is  to  come  out  of  it  all? 

In  the  last  fifty  years  we  have  had  a  ma- 
terial prosperity  in  this  country  the  like 
of  which  was  never  beheld  before.  A  pros- 
perity which  not  only  built  up  great  indus- 


64    ASSOCIATED  INDUSTRIES  DINNER 

tries,  great  transportation  systems,  great 
banks  and  a  great  commerce,  but  a  pros- 
perity under  whose  influence  arts  and  sci- 
ences, education  and  charity  flourished 
most  abundantly.  It  was  little  wonder  that 
men  came  to  think  that  prosperity  was  the 
chief  end  of  man  and  grew  arrogant  in  the 
use  of  its  power.  It  was  little  wonder  that 
such  a  misunderstanding  arose  that  one 
part  of  the  community  thought  the  owners 
and  managers  of  our  great  industries  were 
robbers,  or  that  they  thought  some  of  the 
people  meant  to  confiscate  all  property.  It 
has  been  a  costly  investigation,  but  if  we 
can  arrive  at  a  better  understanding  of  our 
economic  and  social  laws  it  will  be  worth 
all  it  cost. 

As  a  part  of  this  discussion  we  have  had 
many  attempts  at  regulation  of  industrial 
activity  by  law.  Some  of  it  has  proceeded 
on  the  theory  that  if  those  who  enjoyed 
material  prosperity  used  it  for  wrong  pur- 
poses, such  prosperity  should  be  limited  or 


ASSOCIATED  INDUSTRIES  DINNER    65 

abolished.  That  is  as  sound  as  it  would  be 
to  abolish  writing  to  prevent  forgery.  We 
need  to  keep  forever  in  mind  that  guilt  is 
personal;  if  there  is  to  be  punishment  let  it 
fall  on  the  evil-doer,  let  us  not  condemn  the 
instrument.  We  need  power.  Is  the  steam 
engine  too  strong?  Is  electricity  too  swift? 
Can  any  prosperity  be  too  great?  Can  any 
instrument  of  commerce  or  industry  ever 
be  too  powerful  to  serve  the  public  needs? 
What  then  of  the  anti-trust  laws?  They  are 
sound  in  theory.  Their  assemblances  of 
wealth  are  broken  up  because  they  were  as- 
sembled for  an  unlawful  purpose.  It  is  the 
purpose  that  is  condemned.  You  men  who 
represent  our  industries  can  see  that  there 
is  the  same  right  to  disperse  unlawful  as- 
sembling of  wealth  or  power  that  there  is  to 
disperse  a  mob  that  has  met  to  lynch  or 
riot.  But  that  principle  does  not  denounce 
town-meetings  or  prayer-meetings. 

We  have  established  here  a  democracy  on 
the  principle  that  all  men  are  created  equal. 


66    ASSOCIATED  INDUSTRIES  DINNER 

It  is  our  endeavor  to  extend  equal  blessings 
to  all.  It  can  be  done  approximately  if  we 
establish  the  correct  standards.  We  are 
coming  to  see  that  we  are  dependent  upon 
commercial  and  industrial  prosperity,  not 
only  for  the  creation  of  wealth,  but  for  the 
solving  of  the  great  problem  of  the  distri- 
bution of  wealth.  There  is  just  one  condi- 
tion on  which  men  can  secure  employment 
and  a  living,  nourishing,  profitable  wage, 
for  whatever  they  contribute  to  the  enter- 
prise, be  it  labor  or  capital,  and  that  condi- 
tion is  that  some  one  make  a  profit  by  it. 
That  is  the  sound  basis  for  the  distribution 
of  wealth  and  the  only  one.  It  cannot  be 
done  by  law,  it  cannot  be  done  by  public 
ownership,  it  cannot  be  done  by  socialism. 
When  you  deny  the  right  to  a  profit  you 
deny  the  right  of  a  reward  to  thrift  and  in- 
dustry. 

The  scientists  tell  us  that  the  same  force 
that  rounds  the  teardrop  moulds  the  earth. 
Physical  laws  have  their  analogy  in  social 


ASSOCIATED  INDUSTRIES  DINNER    67 

and  industrial  life.  The  law  that  builds  up 
the  people  is  the  law  that  builds  up  indus- 
try. What  price  could  the  millions,  who 
have  found  the  inestimable  blessings  of 
American  citizenship  around  our  great  in- 
dustrial centres,  after  coming  here  from 
lands  of  oppression,  afford  to  pay  to  those 
who  organized  those  industries?  Shall  we 
not  recognize  the  great  service  they  have 
done  the  cause  of  humanity?  Have  we  not 
seen  what  happens  to  industry,  to  trans- 
portation, to  all  commercial  activity  which 
we  call  business  when  profit  fails?  Have  we 
not  seen  the  suffering  and  misery  which  it 
entails  upon  the  people? 

Let  us  recognize  the  source  of  these  fun- 
damental principles  and  not  hesitate  to  as- 
sert them.  Let  us  frown  upon  greed  and  self- 
ishness, but  let  us  also  condemn  envy  and 
uncharitableness.  Let  us  have  done  with 
misunderstandings,  let  us  strive  to  realize 
the  dream  of  democracy  by  a  prosperity 
of  industry  that  shall  mean  the  prosper- 


68    ASSOCIATED  INDUSTRIES  DINNER 

ity  of  the  people,  by  a  strengthening  of 
our  material  resources  that  shall  mean  a 
strengthening  of  our  character,  by  a  mer- 
chandising that  has  for  its  end  manhood, 
and  womanhood,  the  ideal  of  American 
Citizenship. 


ON  THE  NATURE  OF  POLITICS       69 


XII 

ON  THE  NATURE  OF  POLITICS 
POLITICS  is  not  an  end,  but  a  means.  It  is 
not  a  product,  but  a  process.  It  is  the  art 
of  government.  Like  other  values  it  has  its 
counterfeits.  So  much  emphasis  has  been 
put  upon  the  false  that  the  significance  of 
the  true  has  been  obscured  and  politics 
has  come  to  convey  the  meaning  of  crafty 
and  cunning  selfishness,  instead  of  candid 
and  sincere  service.  The  Greek  derivation 
shows  the  nobler  purpose.  Politikos  means 
city-rearing,  state-craft.  And  when  we  re- 
member that  city  also  meant  civilization, 
the  spurious  presentment,  mean  and  sordid, 
drops  away  and  the  real  figure  of  the  poli- 
tician, dignified  and  honorable,  a  minister 
to  civilization,  author  and  finisher  of  gov- 
ernment, is  revealed  in  its  true  and  digni- 
fied proportions. 
There  is  always  something  about  genius 


70      ON  THE  NATURE  OF  POLITICS 

that  is  indefinable,  mysterious,  perhaps  to 
its  possessor  most  of  all.  It  has  been  the 
product  of  rude  surroundings  no  less  than 
of  the  most  cultured  environment,  want 
and  neglect  have  sometimes  nourished  it, 
abundance  and  care  have  failed  to  produce 
it.  Why  some  succeed  in  public  life  and 
others  fail  would  be  as  difficult  to  tell  as 
why  some  succeed  or  fail  in  other  activi- 
ties. Very  few  men  in  America  have  started 
out  with  any  fixed  idea  of  entering  public 
life,  fewer  still  would  admit  having  such  an 
idea.  It  was  said  of  Chief  Justice  Waite, 
of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court,  being 
asked  when  a  youth  what  he  proposed  to 
do  when  a  man,  he  replied,  he  had  not 
yet  decided  whether  to  be  President  or 
Chief  Justice.  This  may  be  in  part  due  to  a 
general  profession  of  holding  to  the  princi- 
ple of  Benjamin  Franklin  that  office  should 
neither  be  sought  nor  refused  and  in  part  to 
the  American  idea  that  the  people  choose 
their  own  officers  so  that  public  service  is 


ON  THE  NATURE  OF  POLITICS      71 

not  optional.  In  other  countries  this  is  not 
so.  For  centuries  some  seats  in  the  British 
Parliament  were  controlled  and  probably 
sold  as  were  commissions  in  the  army,  but 
that  has  never  been  the  case  here.  A  certain 
Congressman,  however,  on  arriving  at 
Washington  was  asked  by  an  old  friend 
how  he  happened  to  be  elected.  He  replied 
that  he  was  not  elected,  but  appointed.  It  is 
worth  while  noting  'that  the  boss  who  was 
then  supposed  to  hold  the  power  of  appoint- 
ment in  that  district  has  since  been  driven 
from  power,  but  the  Congressman,  though 
he  was  defeated  when  his  party  was  lately 
divided,  has  been  reflected.  All  of  which 
suggests  that  the  boss  did  not  appoint  in 
the  first  instance,  but  was  merely  well 
enough  informed  to  see  what  the  people 
wanted  before  they  had  formulated  their 
own  opinions  and  desires.  It  was  said  of 
McKinley  that  he  could  tell  what  Congress 
would  do  on  a  certain  measure  before  the 
men  in  Congress  themselves  knew  what 


72      ON  THE  NATURE  OF  POLITICS 

their  decision  was  to  be.  Cannon  has  said  of 
McKinley  that  his  ear  was  so  close  to  the 
ground  that  it  was  full  of  grasshoppers.  But 
the  fact  remains  that  office  brokerage  is 
here  held  in  reprehensive  scorn  and  pro- 
fessional office-seeking  in  contempt.  Every 
native-born  American,  however,  is  poten- 
tially a  President,  and  it  must  always  be  re- 
membered that  the  obligation  to  serve  the 
State  is  forever  binding  upon  all,  although 
office  is  the  gift  of  the  people. 

Of  course  these  considerations  relate  not 
to  appointive  places  like  the  Judiciary, 
Commissionerships,  clerical  positions  and 
like  places,  but  to  the  more  important  elec- 
tive offices.  Another  reason  why  political 
life  of  this  nature  is  not  chosen  as  a  career 
is  that  it  does  not  pay.  Nearly  all  offices  of 
this  class  are  held  at  a  financial  sacrifice, 
not  merely  that  the  holder  could  earn  more 
at  some  other  occupation,  but  that  the  sal- 
ary of  the  office  does  not  maintain  the 
holder  of  the  office.  It  is  but  recently  that 


ON  THE  NATURE  OF  POLITICS      73 

Parliament  has  paid  a  salary  to  its  members. 
In  years  gone  by  the  United  States  Senate 
has  been  rather  marked  for  its  number  of 
rich  men.  Few  prominent  members  of  Con- 
gress are  dependent  on  their  salary,  which 
is  but  another  way  of  saying  that  in  Wash- 
ington Senators  and  Representatives  need 
more  than  their  official  salaries  to  become 
most  effective.  It  is  a  consolation  to  be 
able  to  state  that  this  is  not  the  condition 
of  members  of  the  Massachusetts  General 
Court.  There,  ability  and  character  come 
very  near  to  being  the  sole  requirements 
for  success.  Although  some  men  have  seen 
service  in  our  legislature  of  nearly  twenty 
years,  to  the  great  benefit  of  the  Common- 
wealth, no  one  would  choose  that  for  a 
career  and  these  men  doubtless  look  on  it 
only  as  an  avocation. 

For  these  reasons  we  have  no  profession 
of  politics  or  of  public  life  in  the  sense  that 
we  have  a  profession  of  law  and  medicine 
and  other  learned  callings.  We  have  men 


74      ON  THE  NATURE  OF  POLITICS 

who  have  spent  many  years  in  office,  but  it 
would  be  difficult  to  find  one  outside  the 
limitations  noted  who  would  refer  to  that 
as  his  business,  occupation,  or  profession. 

The  inexperienced  are  prone  to  hold  an 
erroneous  idea  of  public  life  and  its  methods. 
Not  long  ago  I  listened  to  a  joint  debate  in 
a  prominent  preparatory  school.  Each  side 
took  it  for  granted  that  public  men  were 
influenced  only  by  improper  motives  and 
that  officials  of  the  government  were  seek- 
ing only  their  own  gain  and  advantage  with- 
out regard  to  the  welfare  of  the  people. 
Such  a  presumption  has  no  foundation  in 
fact.  There  are  dishonest  men  in  public 
office.  There  are  quacks,  shysters,  and 
charlatans  among  doctors,  lawyers,  and 
clergy,  but  they  are  not  representative  of 
their  professions  nor  indicative  of  their 
methods.  Our  public  men,  as  a  class,  are 
inspired  by  honorable  and  patriotic  motives, 
desirous  only  of  a  faithful  execution  of  their 
trust  from  the  executive  and  legislative 


ON  THE  NATURE  OF  POLITICS       75 

branches  of  the  States  and  Nation  down  to 
the  executives  of  our  towns,  who  bear  the 
dignified  and  significant  title  of  selectmen. 
Public  men  must  expect  criticism  and  be 
prepared  to  endure  false  charges  from  their 
opponents.  It  is  a  matter  of  no  great  con- 
cern to  them.  But  public  confidence  in 
government  is  a  matter  of  great  concern.  It 
cannot  be  maintained  in  the  face  of  such 
opinions  as  I  have  mentioned.  It  is  neces- 
sary to  differentiate  between  partisan  as- 
sertions and  actual  conditions.  It  is  neces- 
sary to  recognize  worth  as  well  as  to  con- 
demn graft.  No  system  of  government  can 
stand  that  lacks  public  confidence  and  no 
progress  can  be  made  on  the  assumption  of 
a  false  premise.  Public  administration  is 
honest  and  sound  and  public  business  is 
transacted  on  a  higher  plane  than  private 
business. 

There  is  no  difficulty  for  men  in  college 
to  understand  elections  and  government. 
They  have  all  had  experience  in  it.  The 


76      ON  THE  NATURE  OF  POLITICS 

same  motives  that  operate  in  the  choice 
of  class  officers  operate  in  choosing  officers 
for  the  Commonwealth.  Here  men  are  soon 
estimated  at  their  true  worth.  Here  places 
of  trust  are  conferred  and  administered  as 
they  will  be  in  later  years.  The  scale  is 
smaller,  the  opportunities  are  less,  condi- 
tions are  more  artificial,  but  the  principles 
are  the  same.  Of  course  the  present  esti- 
mate is  not  the  ultimate.  There  are  men 
here  who  appear  important  that  will  not 
appear  so  in  years  to  come.  There  are  men 
who  seem  insignificant  now  who  will  de- 
velop at  a  later  day.  But  the  motive  which 
leads  to  elections  here  leads  to  elections  in 
the  State. 

Is  there  any  especial  obligation  on  the 
part  of  college-bred  men  to  be  candidates 
for  public  office?  I  do  not  think  so.  It  is 
said  that  although  college  graduates  con- 
stitute but  one  per  cent  of  the  population, 
they  hold  about  fifty  per  cent  of  the  public 
offices,  so  that  this  question  seems  to  take 


ON  THE  NATURE  OF  POLITICS      77 

care  of  itself.  But  I  do  not  feel  that  there  is 
any  more  obligation  to  run  for  office  than 
there  is  to  become  a  banker,  a  merchant,  a 
teacher,  or  enter  any  other  special  occupa- 
tion. As'  indicated  some  men  have  a  par- 
ticular aptitude  in  this  direction  and  some 
have  none.  Of  course  experience  counts 
here  as  in  any  other  human  activity,  and 
all  experience  worth  the  name  is  the  result 
of  application,  of  time  and  thought  and 
study  and  practice.  If  the  individual  finds 
he  has  liking  and  capacity  for  this  work,  he 
will  involuntarily  find  himself  engaged  in  it. 
There  is  no  catalogue  of  such  capacity.  One 
man  gets  results  in  one  way,  another  in 
another.  But  in  general  only  the  man  of 
broad  sympathy  and  deep  understanding 
of  his  fellow  men  can  meet  with  much 
success. 

What  I  have  said  relates  to  the  some- 
what narrow  field  of  office-holding.  This  is 
really  a  small  part  of  the  American  system 
or  of  any  system.  James  Bryce  tells  us  that 


78      ON  THE  NATURE  OF  POLITICS 

we  have  a  government  of  public  opinion. 
That  is  growing  to  be  more  and  more  true 
of  the  governments  of  the  entire  world.  The 
first  care  of  despotism  seems  to  be  to  con- 
trol the  school  and  the  press.  Where  the 
mind  is  free  it  turns  not  to  force  but  to 
reason  for  the  source  of  authority.  Men  sub- 
mit to  a  government  of  force  as  we  are  doing 
now  when  they  believe  it  is  necessary  for 
their  security,  necessary  to  protect  them 
from  the  imposition  of  force  from  without. 
This  is  probably  the  main  motive  of  the 
German  people.  They  have  been  taught 
that  their  only  protection  lay  in  the  support 
of  a  military  despotism.  Rightly  or  wrongly 
they  have  believed  this  and  believing  have 
submitted  to  what  they  suppose  their  only 
means  of  security.  They  have  been  governed 
accordingly.  Germany  is  still  feudal. 

This  leads  to  the  larger  and  all  important 
field  of  politics.  Here  we  soon  see  that  office- 
holding  is  the  incidental,  but  the  standard 
of  citizenship  is  the  essential.  Government 


ON  THE  NATURE  OF  POLITICS       79 

does  rest  upon  the  opinions  of  men.  Its 
results  rest  on  their  actions.  This  makes 
every  man  a  politician  whether  he  will  or 
no.  This  lays  the  burden  on  us  all.  Men  who 
have  had  the  advantages  of  liberal  culture 
ought  to  be  the  leaders  in  maintaining  the 
standards  of  citizenship.  Unless  they  can 
and  do  accomplish  this  result  education  is 
a  failure.  Greatly  have  they  been  taught, 
greatly  must  they  teach.  The  power  to 
think  is  the  most  practical  thing  in  the 
world.  It  is  not  and  cannot  be  cloistered 
from  politics. 

We  live  under  a  republican  form  of  gov- 
ernment. We  need  forever  to  remember 
that  representative  government  does  rep- 
resent. A  careless,  indifferent  representa- 
tive is  the  result  of  a  careless,  indifferent 
electorate.  The  people  who  start  to  elect  a 
man  to  get  what  he  can  for  his  district  will 
probably  find  they  have  elected  a  man  who 
will  get  what  he  can  for  himself.  A  body 
will  keep  on  its  course  for  a  time  after  the 


80      ON  THE  NATURE  OF  POLITICS 

moving  impulse  ceases  by  reason  of  its  mo- 
mentum. The  men  who  founded  our  govern- 
ment had  fought  and  thought  mightily  on 
the  relationship  of  man  to  his  government. 
Our  institutions  would  go  for  a  time  under 
the  momentum  they  gave.  But  we  should 
be  deluded  if  we  supposed  they  can  be 
maintained  without  more  of  the  same  stern 
sacrifice  offered  in  perpetuity.  Govern- 
ment is  not  an  edifice  that  the  founders 
turn  over  to  posterity  all  completed.  It  is  an 
institution,  like  a  university  which  fails  un- 
less the  process  of  education  continues. 

The  State  is  not  founded  on  selfishness. 
It  cannot  maintain  itself  by  the  offer  of 
material  rewards.  It  is  the  opportunity  for 
service.  There  has  of  late  been  held  out  the 
hope  that  government  could  by  legislation 
remove  from  the  individual  the  need  of 
effort.  The  managers  of  industries  have 
seemed  to  think  that  their  difficulties  could 
be  removed  and  prosperity  ensured  by 
changing  the  laws.  The  employee  has  been 


ON  THE  NATURE  OF  POLITICS      81 

led  to  believe  that  his  condition  could  be 
made  easy  by  the  same  method.  When  in- 
dustries can  be  carried  on  without  any 
struggle,  their  results  will  be  worthless,  and 
when  wages  can  be  secured  without  any 
effort  they  will  have  no  purchasing  value. 
In  the  end  the  value  of  the  product  will 
be  measured  by  the  amount  of  effort  nec- 
essary to  secure  it.  Our  late  Dr.  Garman 
recognized  this  limitation  in  one  of  his  lec- 
ures  where  he  says :  — 

"Critics  have  noticed  three  stages  in  the 
development  of  human  civilization.  First: 
the  let-alone  policy;  every  man  to  look  out 
for  number  one.  This  is  the  age  of  selfish- 
ness. Second:  the  opposite  pole  of  thinking; 
every  man  to  do  somebody's  else  work  for 
him.  This  is  the  dry  rot  of  sentimentality 
that  feeds  tramps  and  enacts  poor  laws 
such  as  excite  the  indignation  of  Herbert 
Spencer.  But  the  third  stage  is  represented 
by  our  formula:  every  man  must  render 
and  receive  the  best  possible  service,  ex- 


82       ON  THE  NATURE  OF  POLITICS 

cept  in  the  case  of  inequality,  and  there  the 
strong  must  help  the  weak  to  help  them- 
selves; only  on  this  condition  is  help  given. 
This  is  the  true  interpretation  of  the  life  of 
Christ.  On  the  first  basis  He  would  have 
remained  in  heaven  and  let  the  earth  take 
care  of  itself.  On  the  second  basis  He  would 
have  come  to  earth  with  his  hands  full  of 
gold  and  silver  treasures  satisfying  every 
want  that  unfortunate  humanity  could 
have  devised.  But  on  the  third  basis  He 
comes  to  earth  in  the  form  of  a  servant  who 
is  at  the  same  tune  a  master  commanding 
his  disciples  to  take  up  their  cross  and  fol- 
low Him;  it  is  sovereignty  through  service 
as  opposed  to  slavery  through  service.  He 
refuses  to  make  the  world  wealthy,  but 
He  offers  to  help  them  make  themselves 
wealthy  with  true  riches  which  shall  be  a 
hundred-fold  more,  even  in  this  life,  than 
that  which  was  offered  them  by  any  former 
system." 

This  applies  to  political  life  no  less  than 


ON  THE  NATURE  OF  POLITICS      83 

to  industrial  life.  We  live  under  the  fairest 
government  on  earth.  But  it  is  not  self -sus- 
taining. Nor  is  that  all.  There  are  selfish- 
ness and  injustice  and  evil  in  the  world. 
More  than  that,  these  forces  are  never  at 
rest.  Some  desire  to  use  the  processes  of 
government  for  their  own  ends.  Some  de- 
sire to  destroy  the  authority  of  government 
altogether.  Our  institutions  are  predica- 
ted on  the  rights  and  the  corresponding 
duties,  on  the  worth,  of  the  individual.  It 
is  to  him  that  we  must  look  for  safety. 
We  may  need  new  charters,  new  consti- 
tutions and  new  laws  at  times.  We  must 
always  have  an  alert  and  interested  citizen- 
ship. We  have  no  dependence  but  the  indi- 
vidual. New  charters  cannot  save  us.  They 
may  appear  to  help  but  the  chances  are 
that  the  beneficial  results  obtained  result 
from  an  increased  interest  aroused  by  dis- 
cussing changes.  Laws  do  not  make  reforms,  ' 
reforms  make  laws.  We  cannot  look  to  gov- 
ernment. We  must  look  to  ourselves.  We 


84      ON  THE  NATURE  OF  POLITICS 

must  stand  not  in  the  expectation  of  a  re- 
ward but  with  a  desire  to  serve.  There  will 
come  out  of  government  exactly  what  is 
put  into  it.  Society  gets  about  what  it  de- 
serves. It  is  the  part  of  educated  men  to 
know  and  recognize  these  principles  and  in- 
fluences and  knowing  them  to  inform  and 
warn  their  fellow  countrymen.  Politics  is 
the  process  of  action  in  public  affairs.  It  is 
personal,  it  is  individual,  and  nothing  more. 
Destiny  is  in  you. 


TREMONT  TEMPLE  85 


XIII 

TREMONT  TEMPLE 
NOVEMBER  3,  1917 

THERE  is  a  time  and  place  for  everything. 
There  are  times  when  some  things  are  out 
of  place.  Domestic  science  is  an  important 
subject.  So  is  the  proper  heating  and  venti- 
lating of  our  habitations.  But  when  the 
house  is  on  fire  reasonable  men  do  not  stop 
to  argue  of  culinary  cuts  nor  listen  to  a  dis- 
quisition on  plumbing;  they  call  out  the 
fire  department  and  join  it  in  an  attempt  to 
save  their  dwelling.  They  think  only  in 
terms  of  the  conflagration. 

So  it  is  in  this  hour  that  has  come  to  us  so 
grim  with  destiny.  We  cannot  stop  now  to 
discuss  domestic  party  politics.  Our  men 
are  on  the  firing-line  of  France.  There  will 
be  no  party  designations  in  the  casualty 
lists.  We  cannot  stop  to  glance  at  that  al- 
luring field  of  history  that  tells  us  of  the 


86  TREMONT  TEMPLE 

past  patriotic  devotion  of  the  men  of  our 
party  to  the  cause  of  the  Nation  —  devo- 
tion without  reserve.  We  must  think  now 
only,  in  terms  of  winning  the  war. 

An  election  at  this  time  is  not  of  our 
choosing.  We  are  having  one  because  it  is 
necessary  under  the  terms  of  our  Constitu- 
tion of  Massachusetts.  We  have  not  con- 
ducted the  ordinary  party  canvass.  We 
have  not  flaunted  party  banners,  we  have 
not  burned  red  fire,  we  have  not  rent  the 
air  with  martial  music,  we  have  not  held 
the  usual  party  rallies.  We  have  addressed 
meetings,  but  such  addresses  have  been  to 
urge  subscriptions  to  the  Liberty  Loan,  to 
urge  gifts  to  the  great  humanitarian  work 
of  the  Red  Cross,  and  for  the  efforts  of 
charity,  benevolence,  and  mercy  that  are 
represented  by  the  Y.M.C.A.  and  by  the 
Knights  of  Columbus,  for  the  conservation 
of  food,  and  for  the  other  patriotic  purposes. 

But  we  are  not  to  infer  that  this  is  not  an 
important  election.  It  is  too  important  to 


TREMONT  TEMPLE  87 

think  of  candidates,  too  important  to  think 
of  party,  too  important  to  think  of  any- 
thing but  our  country  at  war.  No  more  im- 
portant election  has  been  held  since  the 
days  of  War  Governor  Andrew.  On  Tues- 
day next  the  voters  of  Massachusetts  will 
decide  whether  they  will  support  the  Gov- 
ernment in  its  defence  of  America,  and  its 
defence  of  all  that  America  means.  There 
is  no  room  for  domestic  party  issues  here. 
The  only  question  for  consideration  is 
whether  the  Government  of  this  Common- 
wealth, legislative  and  executive,  has  ren- 
dered and  will  render  prompt  and  efficient 
support  for  the  national  defence.  Perhaps 
it  would  be  enough  to  point  out  that  Massa- 
chusetts troops  were  first  at  the  Mexican 
border  and  first  in  France.  But  that  is  only 
part  of  the  story. 

Wars  are  waged  now  with  far  more  than 
merely  the  troops  in  the  field.  Every  re- 
source of  the  people  goes  into  the  battle.  It 
is  a  matter  of  organizing  the  entire  fabric 


88  TREMONT  TEMPLE 

of  society.  No  one  has  yet  pointed  out,  no 
one  can  point  out,  any  failure  on  the  part 
of  our  State  Government  to  take  efficient 
measures  for  this  purpose.  More  than  that, 
Massachusetts  did  not  have  to  be  asked; 
while  Washington  was  yet  dumb  Massa- 
chusetts spoke. 

Months  before  war  was  declared  a  Public 
Safety  Committee  was  appointed  and  went 
to  work;  weeks  before  war  a  conference  of 
New  England  Governors  was  called  and  a 
million  dollars  was  given  the  Governor  and 
Council  to  equip  Massachusetts  troops  for 
which  the  National  Treasury  had  no  money. 
By  reason  of  this  foresight  our  men  went 
forth  better  supplied  than  any  others,  with 
ten  dollars  additional  pay  from  their  home 
State,  and  the  assurance  that  their  depend- 
ents could  draw  forty  dollars  monthly 
where  needed  for  their  support.  The  pro- 
duction and  distribution  of  food  and  fuel 
have  been  advanced.  The  maintenance  of 
industrial  peace  has  been  promoted.  The 


TREMONT  TEMPLE  89 

Gloucester  fishermen,  fifteen  thousand 
shoemakers  in  Lynn,  the  Boston  &  Maine 
railroad  employees,  have  had  their  differ- 
ences adjusted.  A  second  million  dollars 
for  emergency  expenses  has  been  given  the 
Governor  and  Council.  An  efficient  State 
Guard  of  over  ten  thousand  men  has  been 
organized.  Our  brave  soldiers,  their  depend- 
ents, the  great  patriotic  public  have  been 
protected  by  the  present  Government  with 
every  means  that  ingenuity  could  devise. 
We  have  won  the  right  to  reelection  by 
duty  well  performed. 

Remember  this:  we  are  not  responsible 
for  the  war,  we  are  responsible  for  the  prep- 
aration that  enables  us  to  defend  our  sol- 
diers and  ourselves  from  savages.  Mas- 
sachusetts is  not  going  to  repudiate  these 
patriotic  services.  To  do  so  now  would  mean 
more  than  repudiating  the  Government.  It 
would  mean  repudiating  the  devotion  of 
our  brave  men  in  arms,  repudiating  the 
sacrifice  of  the  fathers,  mothers,  wives,  and 


90  TREMONT  TEMPLE 

dear  ones  behind,  and  repudiating  the  loy- 
alty of  the  millions  who  subscribed  to  the 
Liberty  Loan, —  it  would  mean  repudiating 
America. 

Massachusetts  has  decided  that  the  path 
of  the  Mayflower  shall  not  be  closed.  She 
has  decided  to  sail  the  seas.  She  has  decided 
to  sail  not  under  the  edict  of  Potsdam, 
crimped  in  narrow  lanes  seeking  safety  in 
unarmed  merchantmen  painted  in  fantas- 
tic hues,  as  the  badge  of  an  infamous  serv- 
itude, but  she  has  decided  to  sail  under 
the  ancient  Declaration  of  Independence, 
choosing  what  course  she  will,  maintaining 
security  by  the  guns  of  ships  of  the  line, 
flying  at  the  mast  the  Stars  and  Stripes, 
forever  the  emblem  of  a  militant  liberty. 


TOWN-HOUSE,  WESTON  91 


XIV 

DEDICATION  OF  TOWN-HOUSE,  WESTON 

NOVEMBER  27,  1917 

I  WAS  interested  to  come  out  here  and  take 
part  in  the  dedication  of  this  beautiful 
building  in  part  because  my  ancestors  had 
lived  in  this  locality  in  times  gone  past,  but 
more  especially  because  I  am  interested  in 
the  town  governments  of  Massachusetts. 
You  have  heard  the  town-meeting  referred 
to  this  evening.  It  seemed  to  me  that  the 
towns  in  this  Commonwealth  correspond  in 
part  to  what  we  might  call  the  water-tight 
compartments  of  the  ship  of  state,  and 
while  sometimes  our  State  Government  has 
wavered,  sometimes  it  has  been  suspended, 
and  it  has  been  thought  that  the  people 
could  not  care  for  themselves  under  those 
conditions.  Whenever  that  has  arisen  the 
towns  of  the  Commonwealth  have  come  to 
the  rescue  and  been  able  to  furnish  the  foun- 


92  DEDICATION  OF 

dation  and  the  strength  on  which  might 
not  only  be  carried  on,  but  on  which  might 
again  be  erected  the  failing  government  of 
the  Commonwealth  or  the  failing  govern- 
ment of  the  Nation.  So  that  I  know  nothing 
to  which  we  New  Englanders  owe  more,  and 
especially  the  people  of  Massachusetts,  of 
our  civil  liberties  than  we  do  to  our  form 
of  town  government. 

The  history  of  Weston  has  been  long  and 
interesting,  beginning,  as  your  town  seal 
designates,  back  in  1630,  when  Watertown 
was  recognized  as  one  of  the  three  or  four 
towns  in  the  Commonwealth;  set  off  by 
boundaries  into  the  Farmers'  Precinct  in 
1698,  and  becoming  incorporated  as  a  town 
in  1713.  There  begins  a  long  and  hon- 
orable history.  Of  course,  the  first  part  of 
it  gathered  to  a  large  degree  around  the 
church.  The  first  church  was  started  here, 
I  think,  in  1695,  and  I  believe  that  the  land 
on  which  it  was  to  be  erected  was  purchased 
of  a  man  who  bore  my  name.  Your  first 


TOWN-HOUSE,  WESTON  93 

clergyman  seems  to  have  been  settled  about 
1702;  and  the  long  and  even  tenor  of  your 
ways  here  and  your  devotion  to  things  which 
were  established  is  perhaps  shown  and  ex- 
emplified in  the  fact  that  during  the  next 
one  hundred  and  seventy-four  years,  com- 
ing clear  down  to  1876,  you  had  but  six 
clergymen  presiding  over  that  church.  You 
have  an  example  here  now,  along  the  same 
line,  in  the  long  tenure  of  office  that  has 
come  to  your  present  town  clerk,  he  hav- 
ing been  first  elected,  I  believe,  in  1864  and 
having  held  office  from  that  time  to  this, 
probably  serving  as  long,  if  not  longer,  than 
any  of  the  town  clerks  of  Massachusetts, 
certainly,  I  believe,  the  longest  of  any  pres- 
ent living  town  clerk. 

There  are  many  interesting  things  con- 
nected with  the  history  of  this  town.  It 
bore  its  part  in  the  Indian  Wars.  Here  was 
organized  an  Indian  fighting  expedition 
that  went  to  the  North,  and,  though  some  of 
the  men  in  that  expedition  were  lost  and  the 


94  DEDICATION  OF 

expedition  was  not  altogether  successful,  it 
showed  the  spirit,  the  resolution,  the  brav- 
ery, and  the  courage  which  animated  the 
men  of  those  days. 

Mr.  Young  has  referred  to  that  day  in 
Massachusetts  history  that  we  are  all  so 
proud  of,  the  Nineteenth  of  April,  1775. 
But  you  had  an  interesting  event  here  in 
this  town  leading  up  to  that  great  day. 
General  Gage  was  in  command  of  the  Brit- 
ish forces  at  Boston.  There  had  been  gath- 
ered supplies  for  carrying  on  a  war  out 
here  through  Middlesex  County  and  out  to 
the  west  in  Worcester.  History  tells  us  that 
he  sent  out  here  Sergeant  Howe  and  other 
spies,  in  order  that  he  might  find  out  what 
the  conditions  were  and  whether  it  would 
be  easy  for  the  British  troops  to  come  out 
here  and  seize  those  supplies  and  break 
what  they  thought  was  the  idea  on  the  part 
of  the  colonists  of  starting  a  rebellion.  Ser- 
geant Howe  came  out  here,  went  to  the 
hotel,  where,  of  course,  the  landlord  re- 


TOWN-HOUSE,  WESTON  95 

ceived  him  hospitably,  but  informed  him 
that  probably  it  wouldn't  be  a  healthy 
place  for  him  to  stay  for  a  very  long  time, 
and  sent  him  away  in  the  dead  of  the  night. 
He  went  back  to  Boston  and  made  a  report 
to  the  General  in  which  he  said  that  the  peo- 
ple of  this  vicinity  were  generally  resolved 
to  be  free  or  to  die.  That  was  the  spirit  of 
those  times;  and  he  advised  the  Britishers 
that  if  they  wanted  to  go  out  to  Worcester 
they  would  probably  need  an  expedition  of 
ten  thousand  men  and  a  sufficient  train  of 
artillery,  and  he  doubted  whether,  if  such  an 
expedition  as  that  were  sent  out,  any  part 
of  it  would  return  alive.  On  account  of  the 
report  that  he  brought  back  it  was  deter- 
mined by  the  British  authorities  that  it  was 
more  prudent  to  go  up  to  Concord  than  it 
was  to  come  out  here  on  the  way  to  Worces- 
ter. That  was  the  reason  that  the  expedi- 
tion on  that  Nineteenth  of  April  was  started 
for  Concord  rather  than  through  here  for 
Worcester. 


96  DEDICATION  OF 

Of  course,  there  are  many  other  interest- 
ing events  in  the  history  of  this  town.  You 
had  here  many  men  who  have  seen  military 
service.  You  furnished  a  large  number  for 
the  Revolutionary  War  and  a  large  amount 
of  money.  You  furnished  as  your  quota  one 
hundred  and  twenty-six  soldiers  that  went 
into  the  army  from  1861  to  1865.  But  you 
were  doing  here  what  they  were  doing  all 
over  the  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts. 
I  doubt  if  the  leading  and  prominent  and 
decisive  part  that  Massachusetts  played 
in  the  great  Revolutionary  War  is  gen- 
erally understood.  It  is  interesting  to  re- 
call that  when  General  Washington  came 
here  he  seems  to  have  come  with  somewhat 
of  a  prejudice  against  New  England  men.  I 
think  there  are  extant  letters  which  he  wrote 
at  that  time  rather  reflecting  upon  what  the 
New  England  men  were  doing  and  the  char- 
acter of  Massachusetts  men  of  those  days. 
But  that  was  not  his  idea  at  the  end  of  the 
war.  Then,  although  he  had  been  brought 


TOWN-HOUSE,  WESTON  97 

up  far  to  the  south,  he  had  a  different  idea. 
Then  he  said,  and  said  very  generously, 
that  he  thought  well  of  New  England  men 
and  had  it  not  been  for  their  support,  had 
it  not  been  for  the  men,  the  materials  and 
munitions  that  they  supplied  to  the  Revo- 
lutionary forces,  the  war  would  not  have 
been  a  success.  His  name  is  interestingly 
connected  with  your  town  of  Weston. 

You  have  had  here  not  only  an  interest- 
ing population  but  an  interesting  location. 
It  was  through  this  town  that  the  great 
arteries  of  travel  ran  to  the  west  and  south 
and  to  the  north.  When  Burgoyne  surren- 
dered, some  of  his  troops  were  brought 
through  this  town  on  their  way  to  the  sea- 
coast.  When  Washington  came  up  to  visit 
New  England  after  he  had  been  President, 
he  came  through  the  town  of  Weston,  and 
I  do  not  know  whether  this  is  any  reflec- 
tion on  the  cooking  of  those  days  in  the 
towns  to  the  west,  but  it  says  in  the  history 
of  the  town  of  Weston  that  at  one  time 


98  DEDICATION  OF 

when  Washington  stopped  at  the  hotel  in 
Wayland,  although  the  hostess  had  pro- 
vided what  she  thought  was  a  very  fine 
banquet,  he  left  his  staff  to  eat  that  and 
went  out  into  the  kitchen  to  help  himself 
to  a  bowl  of  bread  and  milk.  I  suppose  he 
would  not  be  thought  to  have  done  that 
because  he  was  a  candidate  for  office  and 
wanted  to  appear  as  one  of  the  plain  people, 
because  that  was  after  he  had  served  in  the 
office  of  President.  But  he  stopped  here  in 
the  town  of  Weston  and  was  entertained 
here  at  the  hotel.  And  many  other  great 
men  passed  through  here  and  were  enter- 
tamed  here  from  the  time  when  we  were 
colonies  clear  up  to  the  time  when  the  rail- 
roads were  established  along  in  the  middle 
of  the  last  century. 

So  this  town  has  had  a  long  and  inter- 
esting history,  and  has  done  its  part  in 
building  up  Massachusetts  and  giving  her 
strength  to  take  her  part  in  the  history  of 
this  great  Nation.  And  it  is  pleasant  to  see 


TOWN-HOUSE,  WESTON  99 

how  the  work  that  the  fathers  have  done 
before  us  is  bearing  fruit  in  these  times  of 
ours.  It  is  interesting  to  see  this  beautiful 
building.  It  is  interesting  to  know  that  you 
have  a  town  planning  committee  who  are 
placing  this  building  in  a  situation  where  it 
will  contribute  to  the  physical  beauty  of 
this  historic  town.  We  have  not  given  the 
time  and  the  attention  and  the  thought 
that  we  should  have  given  to  things  of  that 
kind  in  Massachusetts.  We  have  been  too 
utilitarian.  We  have  thought  that  if  a  build- 
ing was  located  in  some  place  where  we 
could  have  access  to  it,  where  it  could  be 
used,  where  it  could  transact  the  business 
of  the  town,  that  was  enough.  We  are  com- 
ing to  see  in  these  modern  days  that  that  is 
not  enough;  that  we  need  not  only  utilita- 
rian motives,  but  that  we  need  to  give  some 
time,  some  thought  and  attention  to  the 
artistic  in  life;  that  we  need  to  concern  our- 
selves not  only  with  the  material  but  give 
some  thought  to  the  spiritual;  that  we  need 


100  DEDICATION  OF 

to  pay  some  attention  to  the  beautiful  as 
well  as  to  that  which  is  merely  useful. 

These  things  are  appreciated.  Weston 
is  doing  something  along  these  lines  and 
building  her  public  buildings  and  laying 
out  her  public  square  or  her  common  (as 
it  was  known  in  the  old  days)  so  they 
will  be  things  of  beauty  as  well  as  things 
of  use.  Let  us  dedicate  this  building  to 
these  new  purposes.  Let  us  dedicate  it  to 
the  glorious  history  of  the  past.  Let  us 
dedicate  it  to  the  sacrifice  that  is  required 
in  these  present  days.  Let  us  dedicate  it 
to  the  hope  of  the  future.  Let  us  dedicate 
it  to  New  England  ideals  —  those  ideals 
that  have  made  Massachusetts  one  of  the 
strong  States  of  the  Nation;  strong  enough 
so  that  in  Revolutionary  days  we  contrib- 
uted far  in  excess  of  our  portion  of  men 
and  money  to  that  great  struggle;  strong 
enough  so  that  the  whole  Nation  has  looked 
to  Massachusetts  in  days  of  stress  for  com- 
fort and  support. 


TOWN-HOUSE,  WESTON  101 

We  are  very  proud  of  our  democracy.  We 
are  very  proud  of  our  form  of  government. 
We  believe  that  there  is  no  other  nation  on 
earth  that  gives  to  the  individual  the  privi- 
leges and  the  rights  that  he  has  in  America. 
The  time  has  come  now  when  we  are  going 
to  defend  those  rights.  The  time  has  come 
when  the  world  is  looking  to  America,  as 
the  Nation  has  looked  to  Massachusetts  in 
the  past,  to  stand  up  and  defend  the  rights 
of  the  individual.  Sovereignty,  it  is  our  be- 
lief, is  vested  in  the  individual;  and  we  are 
going  to  protect  the  rights  of  the  individual. 
It  is  an  auspicious  moment  to  dedicate  here 
in  New  England  one  of  our  town  halls,  an 
auspicious  moment  in  which  to  dedicate  it 
to  the  supremacy  of  those  ideals  for  which 
the  whole  world  is  fighting  at  the  present 
time;  that  the  rights  of  the  individual  as 
they  were  established  here  in  the  past  may 
be  maintained  by  us  now  and  carried  to  a 
yet  greater  development  in  the  future. 


102        AMHERST  ALUMNI  DINNER 


XV 

AMHERST  ALUMNI  DINNER 
SPRINGFIELD 

MARCH  15,  1918 

THE  individual  may  not  require  the  higher 
institutions  of  learning,  but  society  does. 
Without  them  civilization  as  we  know  it 
would  fall  from  mankind  in  a  night.  They 
minister  not  alone  to  their  own  students, 
they  minister  to  all  humanity. 

It  is  this  same  ancient  spirit  which,  com- 
ing to  the  defence  of  the  Nation,  has  in  this 
new  day  of  peril  made  nearly  every  college 
campus  a  training  field  for  military  service, 
and  again  sent  graduate  and  undergraduate 
into  the  fighting  forces  of  our  country.  They 
are  demonstrating  again  that  they  are  the 
strongholds  of  ordered  liberty  and  individ- 
ual freedom.  This  has  ever  been  the  dis- 
tinguishing characteristic  of  the  American 
institution  of  learning.  They  have  believed 


SPRINGFIELD  103 

in  democracy  because  they  believed  in  the 
nobility  of  man;  they  have  served  society 
because  they  have  looked  upon  the  posses- 
sion of  learning  not  as  conferring  a  privi- 
lege but  as  laying  on  a  duty.  They  have 
taught  and  practised  the  precept  that  the 
greater  man's  power  the  greater  his  obliga- 
tion. The  supreme  choice  is  righteousness. 
It  is  that  "moral  power"  to  which  Profes- 
sor Tyler  referred  as  the  great  contribution 
of  college  men  to  the  cause  of  the  Union. 

The  Nation  is  taking  a  military  census,  it 
is  thinking  now  in  terms  of  armament.  The 
officers  of  government  are  discussing  man- 
power, transportation  by  land  and  sea  and 
through  the  air,  the  production  of  rifles, 
artillery,  and  explosives,  the  raising  of 
money  by  loans  and  taxation.  The  Nation 
ought  to  be  most  mightily  engaged  in  this 
work.  It  must  put  every  ounce  of  its  re- 
sources into  the  production  and  organiza- 
tion of  its  material  power.  But  these  are  to 
a  degree  but  the  outward  manifestations  of 


104        AMHERST  ALUMNI  DINNER 

something  yet  more  important.  The  ulti- 
mate result  of  all  wars  and  of  this  war  has 
been  and  will  be  determined  by  the  moral 
power  of  the  nations  engaged.  On  that  will 
depend  whether  armies  "ray  out  darkness " 
or  are  the  source  of  light  and  Me  and  liberty. 
Without  the  support  of  the  moral  power  of 
the  Nation  armies  will  prove  useless,  with- 
out a  moral  victory,  whatever  the  fortunes 
of  the  battlefield,  there  can  be  no  abiding 
peace. 

Whatever  the  difficulties  of  an  exact  defi- 
nition may  be  the  manifestations  of  moral 
power  are  not  difficult  to  recognize.  The 
life  of  America  is  rich  with  such  examples. 
It  has  been  predominant  here.  It  established 
thirteen  colonies  which  were  to  a  large 
degree  self-sustaining  and  self-governing. 
They  fought  and  won  a  revolutionary  war. 
What  manner  of  men  they  were,  what  was 
the  character  of  their  leadership,  was  at- 
tested only  in  part  by  Saratoga  and  York- 
town.  Washington  had  displayed  great 


SPRINGFIELD  105 

power  on  many  fields  of  battle,  the  colo- 
nists had  suffered  long  and  endured  to  the 
end,  but  the  glory  of  military  power  fades 
away  beside  the  picture  of  the  victorious 
general,  returning  his  commission  to  the 
representatives  of  a  people  who  would  have 
made  him  king,  and  retiring  after  two  terms 
from  the  Presidency  which  he  could  have 
held  for  life,  and  the  picture  of  a  war-worn 
people  turning  from  debt,  disorder,  almost 
anarchy,  not  to  division,  not  to  despotism, 
but  to  national  unity  under  the  ordered 
liberty  of  the  Federal  Constitution. 

It  was  manifested  again  in  the  adoption 
and  defence  by  the  young  nation  of  that 
principle  which  is  known  as  the  Monroe 
Doctrine  that  European  despotism  should 
make  no  further  progress  in  the  Western 
Hemisphere.  It  is  in  the  great  argument  of 
Webster  replying  to  Hayne  and  the  stout 
declaration  of  Jackson  that  he  would  treat 
nullification  as  treason.  It  was  the  compelling 
force  of  the  Civil  War,  expounded  by  Lin- 


106       AMHERST  ALUMNI  DINNER 

coin  in  his  unyielding  purpose  to  save  the 
Union  but  "  with  malice  toward  none,  with 
charity  for  all,"  which  General  Grant,  his 
greatest  soldier,  put  into  practice  at  Appo- 
mattox  when  he  sent  General  Lee  back  with 
his  sword,  and  his  soldiers  home  to  the 
plantations,  with  their  war  horsed  for  the 
spring  plowing.  And  at  the  conclusion  of 
the  Spanish  War  it  is  to  the  ever- enduring 
credit  of  our  country  that  it  exacted  not 
penalties,  but  justice,  and  actually  compen- 
sated a  defeated  foe  for  public  property 
that  had  come  to  our  hands  in  the  Philip- 
pines as  the  result  of  the  fortunes  of  battle. 
But  what  of  the  present  crisis?  Is  the  heart 
of£the  Nation  still  sound,  does  it  still  re- 
spond to  the  appeal  to  the  high  ideals  of  the 
past?  If  those  two  and  one  half  years,  be- 
fore the  American  declaration  of  war,  shall 
appear,  when  unprejudiced  history  is  writ- 
ten, to  have  been  characterized  by  patience, 
forbearance,  and  self-restraint,  they  will 
add  to  the  credit  of  former  days.  If  they 


SPRINGFIELD  107 

were  characterized  by  selfishness,  by  poli- 
tics, by  a  balancing  of  expediency  against 
justice  they  will  be  counted  as  a  time  of 
ignominy  for  which  a  victorious  war  would 
furnish  scant  compensation. 


108     MESSAGE  FOR  THE  BOSTON  POST 


XVI 

MESSAGE  FOR  THE  BOSTON  POST 

APRIL  22,  1918 

THE  nation  with  the  greatest  moral  power 
will  win.  Of  that  are  born  armies  and  navies 
and  the  resolution  to  endure.  Have  faith 
in  the  moral  power  of  America.  It  gave  in- 
dependence under  Washington  and  freedom 
under  Lincoln.  Here,  right  never  lost.  Here, 
wrong  never  won.  However  powerful  the 
forces  of  evil  may  appear,  somewhere  there 
are  more  powerful  forces  of  righteousness. 
Courage  and  confidence  are  our  heritage. 
Justice  is  our  might.  The  outcome  is  in 
your  hand,  my  fellow  American;  if  you  de- 
serve to  win,  the  Nation  cannot  lose. 


ROXBURY  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY    109 


XVII 

ROXBURY  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY 

BUNKER  HILL  DAY 

JUNE  17,  1918 

REVERENCE  is  the  measure  not  of  others 
but  of  ourselves.  This  assemblage  on  the  one 
hundred  and  forty-third  anniversary  of  the 
Battle  of  Bunker  Hill  tells  not  only  of  the 
spirit  of  that  day  but  of  the  spirit  of  to-day. 
What  men  worship  that  will  they  become. 
The  heroes  and  holidays  of  a  people  which 
fascinate  their  soul  reveal  what  they  hold 
are  the  realities  of  life  and  mark  out  a  line 
beyond  which  they  will  not  retreat,  but  at 
which  they  will  stand  to  overcome  or  die. 
They  who  reverence  Bunker  Hill  will  fight 
there.  Your  true  patriot  sees  home  and 
hearthstone  in  the  welfare  of  his  country. 

Rightly  viewed,  then,  this  day  is  set 
apart  for  an  examination  of  ourselves  by  re- 
counting the  deeds  of  the  men  of  long  ago. 


110    ROXBURY  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY 

What  was  there  in  the  events  of  the  seven- 
teenth day  of  June,  1775,  which  holds  the 
veneration  of  Americans  and  the  increasing 
admiration  of  the  world?  There  are  the 
physical  facts  not  too  unimportant  to  be 
unworthy  of  reiteration  even  in  the  learned 
presence  of  an  Historical  Society.  A  de- 
tachment of  men  clad  for  the  most  part  in 
the  dress  of  their  daily  occupations,  stand- 
ing with  bared  heads  and  muskets  grounded 
muzzle  down  in  the  twilight  glow  on  Cam- 
bridge Common,  heard  Samuel  Langdon, 
President  of  Harvard  College,  seek  divine 
blessing  on  their  cause  and  marched  away 
in  the  darkness  to  a  little  eminence  at 
Charlestown,  where,  ere  the  setting  of  an- 
other sun,  much  history  was  to  be  made 
and  much  glory  lost  and  won.  When  a  new 
dawn  had  lifted  the  mists  of  the  Bay,  the 
British,  under  General  Howe,  saw  an  in- 
trenchment  on  Breed's  Hill,  which  must 
be  taken  or  Boston  abandoned.  The  works 
were  exposed  in  the  rear  to  attack  from 


BUNKER  HILL  DAY  111 

land  and  sea.  This  was  disdained  by  the 
king's  soldiers  in  their  contempt  for  the 
supposed  fighting  ability  of  the  Americans. 
Leisurely,  as  on  dress  parade,  they  assem- 
bled for  an  assault  that  they  thought  was  to 
be  a  demonstration  of  the  uselessness  of  any 
armed  resistance  on  the  part  of  the  Colo- 
nies. In  splendid  array  they  advanced  late 
in  the  day.  A  few  straggling  shots  and  all 
was  still  behind  the  parapet.  It  was  easier 
than  they  had  expected.  But  when  they 
reached  a  point  where  't  is  said  the  men  be- 
hind the  intrenchments  could  see  the  whites 
of  their  eyes,  they  were  met  by  a  withering 
fire  that  tore  their  ranks  asunder  and  sent 
them  back  in  disorder,  utterly  routed  by 
their  despised  foes.  In  time  they  form  and 
advance  again  but  the  result  is  the  same. 
The  demonstration  of  superiority  was  not 
a  success.  For  a  third  time  they  form,  not 
now  for  dress  parade,  but  for  a  hazardous 
assault.  This  time  the  result  was  different. 
The  patriots  had  lost  nothing  of  courage  or 


112    ROXBURY  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY 

determination  but  there  was  left  scarcely 
one  round  of  powder.  They  had  no  bayonets. 
Pouring  in  their  last  volley  and  still  resist- 
ing with  clubbed  muskets,  they  retired 
slowly  and  in  order  from  the  field.  So  great 
was  the  British  loss  that  there  was  no  pur- 
suit. The  intensity  of  the  battle  is  told 
by  the  loss  of  the  Americans,  out  of  about 
fifteen  hundred  engaged,  of  nearly  twenty 
per  cent,  and  of  the  British,  out  of  some 
thirty-five  hundred  engaged,  of  nearly 
thirty-three  per  cent,  all  in  one  and  one 
hah0  hours. 

It  was  the  story  of  brave  men  bravely  led 
but  insufficiently  equipped.  Their  leader, 
Colonel  Prescott,  had  walked  the  breast- 
works to  show  his  men  that  the  cannonade 
was  not  particularly  dangerous.  John  Stark, 
bringing  his  company,  in  which  were  his 
Irish  compatriots,  across  Charlestown  Neck 
under  the  guns  of  the  battleships,  refused 
to  quicken  his  step.  His  Major,  Andrew  Mc- 
Cleary,  fell  at  the  rail  fence  which  he  had 


BUNKER  HILL  DAY  113 

held  during  the  day.  Dr.  Joseph  Warren, 
your  own  son  of  Roxbury,  fell  in  the  re- 
treat, but  the  Americans,  though  picking 
off  his  officers,  spared  General  Howe.  They 
had  fought  the  French  under  his  brother. 

Such  were  some  of  the  outstanding  deeds 
of  the  day.  But  these  were  the  deeds  of  men 
and  the  deeds  of  men  always  have  an  in- 
ward significance.  In  distant  Philadelphia, 
on  this  very  day,  the  Continental  Congress 
had  chosen  as  the  Commander  of  their 
Army,  General  George  Washington,  a  man 
whose  clear  vision  looked  into  the  realities 
of  things  and  did  not  falter.  On  his  way 
to  the  front  four  days  later,  dispatches 
reached  him  of  the  battle.  He  revealed  the 
meaning  of  j  the  day  with  one  question, 
"Did  the  militia  fight?"  Learning  how 
those  heroic  men  fought,  he  said,  "Then 
the  liberties  of  the  Country  are  safe."  No 
greater  commentary  has  ever  been  made  on 
the  significance  of  Bunker  Hill. 

We  read  events  by  what  goes  before  and 


114    ROXBURY  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY 

after.  We  think  of  Bunker  Hill  as  the  first 
real  battle  for  independence,  the  prelude  to 
the  Revolution.  Yet  these  were  both  after- 
thoughts. Independence  Day  was  still  more 
than  a  year  away  and  then  eight  years  from 
acGomplishment.  The  Revolution  cannot  be 
said  to  have  become  established  until  the 
adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution.  No, 
on  this  June  day,  these  were  not  the  con- 
scious objects  sought.  They  were  contend- 
ing for  the  liberties  of  the  country,  they 
were  not  yet  bent  on  establishing  a  new  na- 
tion nor  on  recognizing  that  relationship 
between  men  which  the  modern  world  calls 
democracy.  They  were  maintaining  well 
their  traditions,  these  sons  of  Londonderry, 
lovers  of  freedom  and  anxious  for  the  fray, 
and  these  sons  of  the  Puritans,  whom  Ma- 
caulay  tells  us  humbly  abased  themselves  in 
the  dust  before  the  Lord,  but  hesitated  not 
to  set  their  foot  upon  the  neck  of  their 
king. 

It  is  the  moral  quality  of  the  day  that 


BUNKER  HILL  DAY  115 

abides.  It  was  the  purpose  of  those  plain 
garbed  men  behind  the  parapet  that  told 
whether  they  were  savages  bent  on  plunder, 
living  under  the  law  of  the  jungle,  or  sons 
of  the  morning  bearing  the  light  of  civiliza- 
tion. The  glorious  revolution  of  1688  was 
fading  from  memory.  The  English  Govern- 
ment of  that  day  rested  upon  privilege  and 
corruption  at  the  base,  surmounted  by  a 
king  bent  on  despotism,  but  fortunately  too 
weak  to  accomplish  any  design  either  of 
good  or  ill.  An  empire  still  outwardly  sound 
was  rotting  at  the  core.  The  privilege  which 
had  found  Great  Britain  so  complacent 
sought  to  establish  itself  over  the  Colonies. 
The  purpose  of  the  patriots  was  resistance 
to  tyranny.  Pitt  and  Burke  and  Lord  Cam- 
den  in  England  recognized  this,  and,  loving 
liberty,  approved  the  course  of  the  Colon- 
ies. The  Tories  here,  loving  privilege,  ap- 
proved the  course  of  the  Royal  Govern- 
ment. Bunker  Hill  meant  that  the  Colonies 
would  save  themselves  and  saving  them- 


116    ROXBURY  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY 

selves  save  the  mother  country  for  liberty. 
The  war  was  not  inevitable.  Perhaps  wars 
are  never  inevitable.  But  the  conflict  be- 
tween freedom  and  privilege  was  inevitable. 
That  it  broke  out  in  America  rather  than 
in  England  was  accidental.  Liberty,  the 
rights  of  man  against  tyranny,  the  rights 
of  kings,  was  in  the  air.  One  side  must  give 
way.  There  might  have  been  a  peaceful 
settlement  by  timely  concessions  such  as 
the  Reform  Bill  of  England  some  fifty 
years  later,  or  the  Japanese  reforms  of  our 
own  times,  but  wanting  that  a  collision  was 
inevitable.  Lacking  a  Bunker  Hill  there  had 
been  another  Dunbar. 

The  eighteenth  century  was  the  era  of 
the  development  of  political  rights.  It  was 
the  culmination  of  the  ideas  of  the  Renais- 
sance. It  was  the  putting  into  practice  in 
government  of  the  answer  to  the  long  pon- 
dered and  much  discussed  question,  "  What 
is  right?"  Custom  was  giving  way  at  last 
to  reason.  Class  and  caste  and  place,  all  the 


BUNKER  HILL  DAY  117 

distinctions  based  on  appearance  and  acci- 
dent were  giving  way  before  reality.  Men 
turned  from  distinctions  which  were  tem- 
poral to  those  which  were  eternal.  The 
sovereignty  of  kings  and  the  nobility  of 
peers  was  swallowed  up  in  the  sovereignty 
and  nobility  of  all  men.  The  inequal  in 
quantity  became  equal  in  quality. 

The  successful  solution  of  this  problem 
was  the  crowning  glory  of  a  century  and  a 
half  of  America.  It  established  for  all  time 
how  men  ought  to  act  toward  each  other  in 
the  governmental  relation.  The  rule  of  the 
people  had  begun. 

Bunker  Hill  had  a  deeper  significance.  It 
was  an  example  of  the  great  law  of  human 
progress  and  civilization.  There  has  been 
much  talk  in  recent  years  of  the  survival  of 
the  fittest  and  of  efficiency.  We  are  begin- 
ning to  hear  of  the  development  of  the 
super-man  and  the  claim  that  he  has  of 
right  dominion  over  the  rest  of  his  inferiors 
on  earth.  This  philosophy  denies  the  doc- 


118    ROXBURY  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY 

trine  of  equality  and  holds  that  government 
is  not  based  on  consent  but  on  compulsion. 
It  holds  that  the  weak  must  serve  the  strong, 
which  is  the  law  of  slavery,  it  applies  the 
law  of  the  animal  world  to  mankind  and 
puts  science  above  morals.  This  sounds  the 
call  to  the  jungle.  It  is  not  an  advance  to 
the  morning  but  a  retreat  to  night.  It  is  not 
the  light  of  human  reason  but  the  darkness 
of  the  wisdom  of  the  serpent. 

The  law  of  progress  and  civilization  is 
not  the  law  of  the  jungle.  It  is  not  an  earthly 
law,  it  is  a  divine  law.  It  does  not  mean  the 
survival  of  the  fittest,  it  means  the  sacri- 
fice of  the  fittest.  Any  mother  will  give  her 
life  for  her  child.  Men  put  the  women  and 
children  in  the  lifeboats  before  they  them- 
selves will  leave  the  sinking  ship.  John 
Hampden  and  Nathan  Hale  did  not  sur- 
vive, nor  did  Lincoln,  but  Benedict  Arnold 
did.  The  example  above  all  others  takes  us 
back  to  Jerusalem  some  nineteen  hundred 
years  ago.  The  men  of  Bunker  Hill  were 


BUNKER  HILL  DAY  119 

true  disciples  of  civilization,  because  they 
were  willing  to  sacrifice  themselves  to  resist 
the  evils  and  redeem  the  liberties  of  the 
British  Empire.  The  proud  shaft  which 
rises  over  their  battlefield  and  the  bronze 
form  of  Joseph  Warren  in  your  square  are 
not  monuments  to  expediency  or  success, 
they  are  monuments  to  righteousness. 

This  is  the  age-old  story.  Men  are  read- 
ing it  again  to-day  —  written  in  blood.  The 
Prussian  military  despotism  has  abandoned 
the  law  of  civilization  for  the  law  of  bar- 
barism. We  could  approve  and  join  in  the 
scramble  to  the  jungle,  or  we  could  resist 
and  sacrifice  ourselves  to  save  an  erring  na- 
tion. Not  being  beasts,  but  men,  we  choose 
the  sacrifice. 

This  brings  us  to  the  part  that  America 
is  taking  at  the  end  of  its  second  hundred 
and  fifty  years  of  existence.  Is  it  not  a  part 
of  that  increasing  purpose  which,  the  poet, 
the  seer,  tells  us  runs  through  the  ages?  Has 
not  our  Nation  been  raised  up  and  strength- 


120    ROXBURY  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY 

ened,  trained  and  prepared,  to  meet  the 
great  sacrifice  that  must  be  made  now  to 
save  the  world  from  despotism?  We  have 
heard  much  of  our  lack  of  preparation.  We 
have  been  altogether  lacking  in  prepara- 
tion in  a  strict  military  sense.  We  had  no 
vast  forces  of  artillery  or  infantry,  no  large 
stores  of  munitions,  few  trained  men.  But 
let  us  not  forget  to  pay  proper  respect  to  the 
preparation  we  did  have,  which  was  the 
result  of  long  training  and  careful  teaching. 
We  had  a  mental,  a  moral,  a  spiritual  train- 
ing that  fitted  us  equally  with  any  other 
people  to  engage  in  this  great  contest  which 
after  all  is  a  contest  of  ideas  as  well  as  of 
arms.  We  must  never  neglect  the  military 
preparation  again,  but  we  may  as  well  rec- 
ognize that  we  have  had  a  preparation  with- 
out which  arms  in  our  hands  would  very 
much  resemble  in  purpose  those  now  ar- 
rayed against  us. 

-  Are  we  not  realizing  a  noble  destiny?  The 
great  Admiral  who  discovered  America 


BUNKER  HILL  DAY  121 

bore  the  significant  name  of  Christopher.  It 
has  been  pointed  out  that  this  name  means 
Christ-bearer.  Were  not  the  men  who  stood 
at  Bunker  Hill  bearing  light  to  the  world  by 
their  sacrifices?  Are  not  the  men  of  to-day, 
the  entire  Nation  of  to-day,  living  in  accord- 
ance with  the  significance  of  that  name, 
and  by  their  service  and  sacrifice  redeeming 
mankind  from  the  forces  that  make  for 
everlasting  destruction?  We  seek  no  terri- 
tory and  no  rewards.  We  give  but  do  not 
take.  We  seek  for  a  victory  of  our  ideas.  Our 
arms  are  but  the  means.  America  follows  no 
such  delusion  as  a  place  in  the  sun  for  the 
strong  by  the  destruction  of  the  weak.  Amer- 
ica seeks  rather,  by  giving  of  her  strength 
for  the  service  of  the  weak,  a  place  in  eter- 
nity. 


122  FAIRHAVEN 


XVIII 

FAIRHAVEN 

JULY  4,  1918 

WE  have  met  on  this  anniversary  of  Amer- 
ican independence  to  assess  the  dimensions 
of  a  kind  deed.  Nearly  four  score  years  ago 
the  master  of  a  whaling  vessel  sailing  from 
this  port  rescued  from  a  barren  rock  in 
the  China  Sea  some  Japanese  fishermen. 
Among  them  was  a  young  boy  whom  he 
brought  home  with  him  to  Fairhaven, 
where  he  was  given  the  advantages  of  New 
England  life  and  sent  to  school  with  the 
boys  and  girls  of  the  neighborhood,  where 
he  excelled  in  his  studies.  But  as  he  grew  up 
he  was  filled  with  a  longing  to  see  Japan  and 
his  aged  mother.  He  knew  that  the  duty  of 
filial  piety  lay  upon  him  according  to  the 
teachings  of  his  race,  and  he  was  deter- 
mined to  meet  that  obligation.  I  think  that 
is  one  of  the  lessons  of  this  day.  Here  was  a 


FAIRHAVEN  123 

youth  who  determined  to  pursue  the  course 
which  he  had  been  taught  was  right.  He 
braved  the  dangers  of  the  voyage  and  the 
greater  dangers  that  awaited  an  absentee 
from  his  country  under  the  then  existing 
laws,  to  perform  his  duty  to  his  mother  and 
to  his  native  land.  In  making  that  return  I 
think  we  are  entitled  to  say  that  he  was  the 
first  Ambassador  of  America  to  the  Court 
of  Japan,  for  his  extraordinary  experience 
soon  brought  him  into  the  association  of 
the  highest  officials  of  his  country,  and  his 
presence  there  prepared  the  way  for  the 
friendly  reception  which  was  given  to  Com- 
modore Perry  when  he  was  sent  to  Japan  to 
open  relations  between  that  Government 
and  the  Government  of  America. 

And  so  we  see  how  out  of  the  kind  deed  of 
Captain  Whitefield,  friendly  relations  which 
have  existed  for  many  years  between  the 
people  of  Japan  and  the  people  of  America 
were  encouraged  and  made  possible.  And  it 
is  in  recognition  of  that  event  that  we  have 


124  FAIRHAVEN 

here  to-day  this  great  concourse  of  people, 
this  martial  array,  and  the  representative  of 
the  Japanese  people  —  a  people  who  have 
never  failed  to  respond  to  an  act  of  kind- 
ness. 

It  was  with  special  pleasure  that  I  came 
here  representing  the  Commonwealth  of 
Massachusetts,  to  extend  an  official  wel- 
come to  His  Excellency  Viscount  Ishii,  who 
comes  here  to  present  to  the  town  of  Fair- 
haven  a  Sumari  sword  on  behalf  of  the  son 
of  that  boy  who  was  rescued  long  ago.  This 
sword  was  once  the  emblem  of  place  and 
caste  and  arbitrary  rank.  It  has  taken  on 
a  new  significance  because  Captain  White- 
field  was  true  to  the  call  of  humanity,  be- 
cause a  Japanese  boy  was  true  to  his  call 
of  duty.  This  emblem  will  hereafter  be  a 
token  not  only  of  the  friendship  that  exists 
between  two  nations  but  a  token  of  liberty, 
of  freedom,  and  of  the  recognition  by  the 
Government  of  both  these  nations  of  the 
rights  of  the  people.  Let  it  remain  here  as  a 


FAIRHAVEN  125 

mutual  pledge  by  the  giver  and  the  receiver 
of  their  determination  that  the  motive 
which  inspired  the  representatives  of  each 
race  to  do  right  is  to  be  a  motive  which  is  to 
govern  the  people  of  the  earth. 


126         SOMERVILLE  REPUBLICAN 


XIX 

SOMERVILLE  REPUBLICAN  CITY 
COMMITTEE 
AUGUST  7,  1918 

COMING  into  your  presence  in  ordinary 
times,  gentlemen  of  the  committee,  I  should 
be  inclined  to  direct  your  attention  to  the 
long  and  patriotic  services  of  our  party,  to 
the  great  benefits  its  policies  have  conferred 
upon  this  Nation,  to  the  illustrious  names 
of  our  leaders,  to  our  present  activities,  and 
to  our  future  party  policy.  But  these  are 
not  ordinary  times.  Our  country  is  at  war. 
There  is  no  way  to  save  our  party  if  our 
country  be  lost.  And  in  the  present  crisis 
there  is  only  one  way  to  save  our  country. 
We  must  support  the  State  and  National 
Governments  in  whatever  they  request  for 
the  conduct  of  the  war.  The  Constitution 
makes  the  President  Commander-in-Chief 
of  the  Army  and  Navy.  What  he  needs 


CITY  COMMITTEE  127 

should  be  freely  given.  This  has  been  and 
will  be  the  policy  of  the  Republican  admin- 
istration of  Massachusetts  and  of  her  Sena- 
tors and  Representatives  in  Congress.  We 
seek  no  party  advantage  from  the  distress 
of  our  country.  Among  Republicans  there 
will  be  no  political  profiteering. 

It  is  a  year  and  four  months  now  since 
we  declared  the  German  Government  was 
making  war  on  America.  We  are  beginning 
to  see  what  our  requirements  are.  We  had 
a  small  but  efficient  standing  army,  and 
a  larger  but  less  efficient  National  Guard. 
These  have  been  increased  by  enlistments. 
We  have  a  new  national  force,  —  never  to 
be  designated  as  Conscripts,  but  as  the  ac- 
cepted soldiers  of  a  whole  Nation  that  has 
volunteered,  of  almost  unlimited  numbers. 
By  taxation  and  by  three  Liberty  Loans, 
each  over-subscribed  by  more  than  fifty  per 
cent,  we  have  demonstrated  that  there  will 
be  no  lack  of  money.  The  problem  of  the 
production  and  conservation  of  food  is  be- 


128         SOMERVILLE  REPUBLICAN 

ing  met,  though  not  yet  without  some  incon- 
venience, yet  so  far  with  very  little  suffer- 
ing. The  remaining  factor  is  the  production 
of  the  necessary  materials  for  carrying  on 
the  war.  We  lack  ships  and  military  sup- 
plies. Whether  these  are  secured  in  time  in 
sufficient  quantity  will  depend  in  a  large 
measure  upon  the  attitude  of  the  people 
managing  and  employed  in  these  industries. 
The  attitude  of  the  leaders  of  organized 
labor  has  been  patriotic.  They  realize  that 
this  is  a  war  to  preserve  the  rights  that  have 
been  won  for  the  people,  and  they  have  at 
all  times  advised  their  fellow  workmen  to 
remain  at  work.  There  must  be  forbearance 
on  all  sides.  Where  wages  are  too  low  they 
should  be  increased  voluntarily.  Where 
there  is  disagreement  the  Government  has 
provided  means  for  investigation  and  ad- 
justment. Our  industrial  front  must  keep 
pace  with  our  military  front. 

We   are  demonstrating  the  ability  of 
America.  Within  the  last  few  days  the  re- 


CITY  COMMITTEE  129 

port  has  come  to  us  that  our  soldiers  have 
defeated  the  Prussian  Guard.  The  sneer  of 
Germany  at  America  is  vanishing.  It  is  true 
that  the  German  high  command  still  couple 
American  and  African  soldiers  together  in 
intended  derision.  What  they  say  in  scorn, 
let  us  say  in  praise.  We  have  fought  be- 
fore for  the  rights  of  all  men  irrespective 
of  color.  We  are  proud  to  fight  now  with 
colored  men  for  the  rights  of  white  men.  It 
would  be  fitting  recognition  of  their  worth 
to  send  our  American  negro,  when  that 
time  comes,  to  inform  the  Prussian  military 
despotism  on  what  terms  their  defeated 
armies  are  to  be  granted  peace. 

While  the  victories  that  have  recently 
come  to  our  arms  are  most  encouraging, 
they  should  only  stimulate  us  to  redoubled 
efforts.  The  only  hope  of  a  short  war  is  to 
prepare  for  a  long  one.  In  this  work  the 
States  play  a  most  important  part.  Massa- 
chusetts must  be  kept  so  organized  and 
governed  as  to  continue  that  able,  effective, 


130        SOMERVILLE  REPUBLICAN 

and  prompt  cooperation  with  the  National 
Government  that  has  marked  the  past  prog- 
ress of  the  war.  In  this  we  have  a  great 
part  to  do  here.  It  was  for  such  a  task  that 
the  Republican  Party  came  into  being  sixty- 
four  years  ago.  One  of  the  resolutions 
adopted  at  its  birth  peculiarly  dedicates  it 
to  the  requirements  of  the  present  hour. 

"Resolved,  that  in  view  of  the  necessity 
of  battling  for  the  first  principles  of  repub- 
lican government  and  against  the  schemes 
of  an  aristocracy,  the  most  revolting  and 
oppressive  with  which  the  earth  was  ever 
cursed,  or  man  debased,  we  will  cooperate 
and  be  known  as  'Republicans'  until  the 
contest  be  terminated." 

This  great  work  lies  before  our  party  in 
Massachusetts.  We  shall  go  on  battling  for 
the  first  principles  of  Republican  govern- 
ment until  it  has  been  secured  to  all  the 
people  of  the  earth. 

Our  American  forces  on  sea  and  land  are 
proving  sufficient  to  turn  the  tide  in  favor 


CITY  COMMITTEE  131 

of  the  Allied  cause.  They  could  not  succeed 
alone,  we  could  not  succeed  alone.  We  are 
furnishing  a  reserve  power  that  is  bringing 
victory. 

But  America  must  furnish  more  than 
armies  and  navies  for  the  future.  If  armies 
and  navies  were  to  be  supreme,  Germany 
would  be  right.  There  are  other  and  greater 
forces  in  the  world  than  march  to  the  roll 
of  the  drum.  As  we  are  turning  the  scale 
with  our  sword  now,  so  hereafter  we  must 
turn  the  scale  with  the  moral  power  of 
America.  It  must  be  our  disinterested  plans 
that  are  to  restore  Europe  to  a  place  through 
justice  when  we  have  secured  victory 
through  the  sword.And  into  a  new  world  we 
are  to  take  not  only  the  people  of  oppressed 
Europe  but  the  people  of  America.  Out  of 
our  sacrifice  and  suffering,  out  of  our  blood 
and  tears,  America  shall  have  a  new 
awakening,  a  rededication  to  the  cause  of 
Washington  and  Lincoln,  a  firmer  convic- 
tion for  the  right. 


132  WRITTEN  FOR  THE 


XX 

WRITTEN  FOR  THE  SUNDAY  ADVER- 
TISER AND  AMERICAN 
SEPTEMBER  1,  1918 

THE  man  who  seeks  to  stimulate  and  in- 
crease the  production  of  materials  necessary 
for  the  conduct  of  the  war  by  raising  the 
price  he  pays  is  a  patriot.  The  man  who  re- 
fuses to  sell  at  a  fine  price  whatever  he  may 
have  that  is  necessary  for  the  conduct  of 
the  war  is  a  profiteer.  One  man  seeks  to 
help  his  country  at  his  own  expense,  the 
other  seeks  to  help  himself  at  his  country's 
expense.  One  is  willing  to  suffer  himself  that 
his  country  may  prosper,  the  other  is  will- 
ing his  country  should  suffer  that  he  may 
prosper. 

In  ordinary  times  these  difficulties  are 
taken  care  of  by  the  operation  of  the  law  of 
supply  and  demand.  If  the  price  is  too  high 
the  buyer  has  time  to  go  elsewhere.  In  war 


ADVERTISER  AND  AMERICAN      133 

the  element  of  time  is  one  of  the  chief  con- 
siderations. When  what  is  wanted  is  once 
found  it  must  be  made  available  at  once. 
The  principle  of  trusteeship  also  comes  into 
more  immediate  operation.  It  is  recognized 
in  time  of  peace  that  the  public  may  take 
what  it  may  need  of  private  property  for 
the  general  welfare,  paying  a  fair  compen- 
sation, and  that  the  right  to  own  property 
carries  with  it  the  duty  of  using  it  for  the 
welfare  of  our  fellow  man.  The  time  has 
gone  by  when  one  may  do  what  he  will 
with  his  own.  He  must  use  his  property  for 
the  general  good  or  the  very  right  to  hold 
private  property  is  lost. 

These  are  some  of  the  rules  to  be  ob- 
served in  the  relationship  between  man  and 
man.  To  see  that  these  rules  are  properly 
enforced,  governments  are  formed.  When 
they  are  not  observed  —  when  the  strong 
refuse  voluntary  justice  to  the  weak  — 
then  it  is  time  for  the  strong  arm  of  the  law 
through  the  public  officers  to  intervene  and 


134  WRITTEN  FOR  THE 

see  that  the  weak  are  protected.  This  can 
usually  be  done  by  the  enactment  of  a  law 
which  all  will  try  to  obey,  but  when  this 
course  has  failed  there  is  no  remedy  save 
by  the  process  of  law  to  take  from  the 
wrong-doer  his  power  in  the  future  to  do 
harm. 

,  America  is  built  on  faith  in  the  individ- 
ual, faith  in  his  will  and  power  to  do  right 
of  his  own  accord,  but  equally  is  the  deter- 
mination that  the  individual  shall  be  pro- 
tected against  whatsoever  force  may  be 
brought  against  him.  We  believe  in  him  not 
because  of  what  he  has,  but  what  he  is.  But 
this  is  a  practical  faith.  It  does  not  rest  on 
any  silly  assumption  that  virtue  is  the  re- 
ward of  anything  but  effort  or  that  liberty 
can  be  secured  at  the  price  of  anything  but 
eternal  vigilance. 

It  is  in  recognition  of  these  principles  and 
conditions  that  the  General  Court  of  last 
year  gave  the  Governor  power  to  make 
rules  for  the  use  by  individuals  of  their 


ADVERTISER  AND  AMERICAN      135 

property  during  the  war  for  the  general  de- 
fence of  the  Commonwealth,  and  on  failure 
on  their  part  so  to  use  their  property,  to 
take  possession  of  it  for  such  term  as  may 
be  necessary.  Up  to  the  present  time  it  has 
not  been  necessary  to  take  property.  Our 
faith  in  the  patriotism  of  our  citizens  has 
been  amply  demonstrated.  Of  our  four  mil- 
lions of  people  few  have  failed  voluntarily 
to  use  their  every  resource  for  the  defence 
of  the  Nation.  But  of  late  there  have  been 
some  complaints  of  too  high  charges  for 
rent  in  war-material  centres.  In  some  cases 
patriotic  workmen  engaged  in  labor  most 
vital  to  our  country's  salvation  have  been 
threatened  with  eviction  by  profiteering 
landlords  unless  they  paid  exorbitant  rents. 
No  one  is  undertaking  to  say  that  rents 
must  on  no  account  be  raised.  But  the  Ex- 
ecutive Department  of  Massachusetts  is 
undertaking  to  say  that  in  any  case  where 
rents  are  unreasonably  raised  to  the  detri- 
ment of  people  who  are  just  as  essential  to 


136  WRITTEN  FOR  THE 

our  victory  as  the  soldier  in  the  field,  if  any 
one  is  to  be  evicted  from  such  premises  it 
will  be  the  persons  who  are  raising  rents 
and  not  the  persons  who  are  asked  to  pay 
them.  This  action  is  taken  to  protect  the 
Nation.  It  is  taken  in  our  desire  and  deter- 
mination here  to  cooperate  with  the  Federal 
Government  in  every  activity  that  is  nec- 
essary to  the  prosecution  of  the  war.  It  is 
taken  also  ,f or  the  protection  of  the  individ- 
ual. We  do  not  care  how  humble  he  may 
be,  we  do  not  care  how  exalted  the  landlord 
may  be,  justice  shall  be  done. 

This  is  not  to  be  taken  as  an  offer  on  the 
part  of  the  Commonwealth  to  have  un- 
loaded on  it  a  large  amount  of  property  at 
a  high  price.  Possession  may  be  taken,  but 
the  ownership  will  not  change.  Unless  rea- 
sonable rents  are  charged,  the  tenant  will 
stay  in  possession,  but  the  rent  which  the 
Commonwealth  shall  pay  for  occupation 
will  be  determined  by  a  jury.  This  means 
justice,  nothing  more,  nothing  less  —  jus- 


ADVERTISER  AND  AMERICAN      137 

tice  to  the  tenant,  justice  to  the  landlord. 
It  is  not  to  be  inferred  that  our  real  estate 
owners  have  lacked  anything  as  a  class  in 
patriotism.  They  are  our  most  loyal,  most 
self-sacrificing,  most  commendable  citi- 
zens. Massachusetts  by  its  Homestead  Com- 
mission is  encouraging  its  citizens  to  own 
real  estate  because  such  ownership  is  a 
sheet  anchor  to  self-government.  But  it  is 
a  proclamation  of  warning  to  profiteers,  of 
approbation  and  approval  to  patriots,  and 
of  assurance  and  assistance  to  the  working 
people  and  rent  payers  of  our  Common- 
wealth. 


138  ESSEX  COUNTY  CLUB 


XXI 

ESSEX  COUNTY  CLUB,  LYNNFIELD 

SEPTEMBER  14,  1918 

WE  meet  here  to-day  as  the  inheritors  of 
those  principles  which  preserved  our  Na- 
tion and  extended  its  constitutional  guar- 
anties to  all  its  citizens.  We  come  not  as 
partisans  but  as  patriots.  We  tome  to  pledge 
anew  our  faith  hi  all  that  America  means 
and  to  declare  our  firm  determination  to 
defend  her  within  and  without  from  every 
foe.  Above  that  we  come  to  pay  our  tribute 
of  wonder  and  admiration  at  the  great 
achievements  of  our  Nation  and  at  the 
glory  which  they  are  shedding  around  her. 
The  past  four  years  has  shown  the  world 
the  existence  of  a  conspiracy  against  man- 
kind of  a  vastness  and  a  wickedness  that 
could  only  be  believed  when  seen  in  opera- 
tion and  confessed  by  its  participants.  This 
conspiracy  was  promoted  by  the  German 


LYNNFIELD  139 

military  despotism.  It  probably  was  en- 
couraged by  the  results  of  three  wars  —  one 
against  Denmark  which  robbed  her  of  ter- 
ritory, one  against  Austria  which  robbed  her 
of  territory,  and  one  against  France  which 
robbed  her  of  territory  and  a  cash  indem- 
nity of  a^billion  dollars.  These  seemingly 
easy  successes  encouraged  their  perpetra- 
tors to  plan  for  the  pillage  and  enslavement 
of  the  earth. 

To  accomplish  this,  the  German  despot- 
ism began  at  home.  By  a  systematic  train- 
ing the  whole  German  people  were  per- 
verted. A  false  idea  of  their  own  greatness 
was  added  to  their  contempt  and  hate  of 
other  nations,  who,  they  were  taught, 
were  bent  on  their  destruction.  The  mili- 
tary class  were  exalted  and  all  else  degraded. 
Thus  was  laid  the  foundation  for  the  atroc- 
ities which  have  marked  their  conduct  of 
the  war. 

The  vastness  of  the  conquest  planned  has 
recently  been  revealed  by  August  Thyssen, 


140  ESSEX  COUNTY  CLUB 

one  of  the  greatest  steel  men  of  the  empire. 
He  tells  of  a  calling  together,  in  the  years 
before  the  war,  of  the  industrial  and  bank- 
ing interests  of  the  Nation,  when  a  plan 
of  war  was  laid  before  them,  and  their 
support  secured  by  the  promise  of  spoils. 
France,  India,  Canada,  Australia  were  to 
be  given  over  to  German  satraps.  His  share 
was  30,000  acres  in  Australia,  with  $750,- 
000  provided  by  the  Government  for  its  de- 
velopment. This  was  the  promise  made  by 
the  Kaiser.  Here  was  the  motive  of  the  war. 
How  it  was  provoked  is  told  by  Prince 
Lichnowski,  the  Ambassador  of  Germany 
to  London.  He  shows  how  he  had  reached 
agreements  for  a  treaty  which  would  show 
the  good  will  of  Great  Britain.  Berlin  re- 
fused to  sign  it  unless  it  should  be  kept 
secret.  He  shows  how  Germany  used  Austria 
to  attack  Serbia;  how  mediations  were  re- 
fused; when  Austria  was  about  to  withdraw, 
Germany  sent  an  ultimatum  to  Russia  one 
day  and  the  next  day  declared  war. 


LYNNFIELD  141 

This  diplomat  sums  up  the  whole  case 
when  he  says :  "I  had  to  support  in  London 
a  policy  the  heresy  of  which  I  recognized. 
That  brought  down  vengeance  on  me  be- 
cause it  was  a  sin  against  the  Holy  Ghost." 
What  an  indictment  of  Germany  from  her 
own  confession!  A  plan  to  use  the  revela- 
tions of  science  for  the  sack  and  slavery 
of  the  earth;  the  degradation,  perversion, 
corruption  of  a  whole  people,  and  by  those 
who  should  have  been  the  wardens  of  their 
righteousness,  done  for  the  temporal  glory 
of  a  military  caste,  and  all  in  the  name  of 
divine  right. 

Much  of  this  was  not  known  in  America 
when  we  declared  war.  It  is  with  great  diffi- 
culty we  realize  it  now.  We  had  seen  Ger- 
many going  from  infamy  to  infamy.  We  did 
know  of  the  violated  treaty  of  Belgium, 
of  the  piracy,  the  murder  of  women  and 
children,  the  destruction  of  the  property 
and  lives  of  our  neutral  citizens,  and  finally 
the  plain  declaration  of  the  German  Im- 


143  ESSEX  COUNTY  CLUB 

perial  Government  that  it  would  wantonly 
and  purposely  destroy  the  property  and 
lives  of  any  American  citizen  who  exercised 
his  undoubted  legal  right  to  sail  certain  por- 
tions of  the  sea.  This  attempt  to  declare 
law  for  America  by  an  edict  from  Potsdam 
we  resisted  by  the  sword.  We  see  at  last  not 
only  the  hideous  wickedness  which  perpe- 
trated the  war,  we  see  that  it  is  a  world  war, 
that  Germany  struck  not  only  at  Belgium, 
she  struck  at  us,  she  struck  at  our  whole 
system  of  civilization.  A  wicked  purpose, 
which  a  vain  attempt  to  realize  has  involved 
its  authors  in  more  and  more  wickedness. 
We  hear  that  even  among  the  civil  popula- 
tion of  Germany  crime  is  rampant. 

Looking  now  at  this  condition  of  Ger- 
many and  her  Allies,  it  is  time  to  inquire 
what  America  and  her  Allies  have  to  offer 
as  a  remedy,  and  what  effect  the  application 
of  such  remedy  has  had  upon  ourselves.  We 
have  drawn  the  sword,  but  is  it  only  to 

"  Be  blood  for  blood,  for  treason  treachery?  " 


LYNNFIELD  143 

Are  we  seeking  merely  to  match  infamy 
with  infamy,  merely  to  pillage  and  de- 
stroy those  who  threatened  to  pillage  and 
destroy  us?  No;  we  have  taken  more  than 
the  sword,  lest  we  perish  by  the  sword;  we 
have  summoned  the  moral  power  of  the 
Nation.  We  have  recognized  that  evil  is 
only  to  be  overcome  by  good.  We  have  mar- 
shalled the  righteousness  of  America  to 
overwhelm  the  wickedness  of  Germany.  A 
new  spirit  has  come  over  the  nation  the 
like  of  which  was  never  seen  before.  We  can 
see  it  not  only  in  the  new  purity  of  camp 
life,  in  the  heroism  of  our  soldiers  as  they 
fight  in  the  faith  and  for  the  faith  of  the 
fathers,  but  we  see  it  in  the  healing  influ- 
ences which  a  righteous  purpose  has  had 
upon  the  evils  which  beset  us. 

We  entered  the  war  a  people  of  many 
nationalities.  We  are  united  now;  every  one 
is  first  an  American.  We  were  beset  with 
jealousies,  and  envy,  and  class  prejudice. 
Service  in  the  camp  has  taught  each  sol- 


144  ESSEX  COUNTY  CLUB  - 

dier  to  respect  the  other,  whatever  his 
source,  and  a  mutual  sympathy  at  home 
has  brought  all  into  a  common  citizenship. 
The  service  flag  is  a  great  leveller. 

Our  industrial  life  has  been  purified  of 
prejudice.  No  one  is  complaining  now  that 
any  concern  is  too  large,  too  strong.  All  see 
that  the  great  organizations  of  capital  in 
industry  are  our  salvation.  Labor  has  taken 
on  a  new  dignity  and  nobility.  When  the 
idle  see  the  necessity  of  work,  when  we  be- 
gin to  recognize  industry  as  essential,  the 
working  man  begins  to  have  paid  him  the 
honor  which  is  his  due. 

Invention,  chemistry,  medicine,  surgery, 
have  been  stimulated  and  improved.  Even 
our  agriculture  has  taken  on  more  eco- 
nomical methods  and  increased  production. 

The  call  for  man  power  has  given  a  new 
idea  of  the  importance  of  the  individual,  so 
that  there  has  been  brought  to  the  hum- 
blest the  knowledge  that  he  was  not  only 
important  but  his  importance  was  realized. 


LYNNFIELD  145 

And  with  this  has  come  the  discovery  of 
new  powers,  not  only  in  the  slouch  whom 
military  drill  has  transformed  into  a  man, 
but  to  labor  that  has  found  a  new  joy,  satis- 
faction and  efficiency  in  its  work.  The  en- 
tire activities  of  the  Nation  are  tuned  up. 

The  spirit  of  charity  has  been  aroused. 
Hundreds  of  millions  have  been  provided  by 
voluntary  gifts  for  the  Red  Cross,  Knights 
of  Columbus,  Hebrew  Charities,  and  Chris- 
tian Associations.  The  people  are  turning  to 
their  places  of  worship  with  a  new  religious 
fervor.  Everywhere  selfishness  is  giving 
way  to  service,  idleness  to  industry,  waste- 
fulness to  thrift. 

The  war  is  being  won.  It  is  being  over- 
whelmingly won.  A  righteous  purpose  has 
not  only  strengthened  our  arms  abroad  but 
exalted  the  Nation  at  home. 

The  great  work  before  us  is  to  keep  this 
new  spirit  in  the  right  path.  The  oppor- 
tunity for  a  military  training,  the  beneficial 
results  of  its  discipline,  must  be  continued 


146  ESSEX  COUNTY  CLUB 

for  the  youth  of  our  country.  The  sacrifice 
necessary  for  national  defence  must  here- 
after never  be  neglected.  The  virtues  of  war 
must  be  carried  into  peace.  But  this  must 
not  be  done  at  the  expense  of  the  freedom  of 
the  individual.  It  must  be  the  expression 
of  self-government  and  not  the  despotism 
of  a  German  military  caste  or  a  Russian 
Bolshevik  state.  We  are  in  this  war  to  pre- 
serve the  institutions  that  have  made  us 
great.  The  war  has  revealed  to  us  their  true 
greatness.  All  argument  about  the  effi- 
ciency of  despotism  and  the  incompetence 
of  republics  was  answered  at  the  Marne 
and  will  be  hereafter  answered  at  the  Rhine. 
We  are  not  going  to  overcome  the  Kaiser 
by  becoming  like  him,  nor  aid  Russia  by 
becoming  like  her. 

We  see  now  that  Prussian  despotism  was 
the  natural  ally  of  the  Russian  Bolshevik 
and  the  I.W.W.  here.  Both  exist  to  per- 
vert and  enslave  the  people;  both  seek  to 
break  down  the  national  spirit  of  the  world 


LYNNFIELD  147 

for  their  own  wicked  ends.  Both  are  doomed 
to  failure.  By  taking  our  place  in  the  world, 
America  is  to  become  more  American,  as 
by  doing  his  duty  the  individual  develops 
his  own  manhood.  We  see  now  that  when 
the  individual  fails,  whether  it  be  from  a 
despotism  or  the  dead  level  of  a  socialistic 
state,  all  has  failed. 

-  A  new  vision  has  come  to  the  Nation,  a 
vision  that  must  never  be  obscured.  It  is 
for  us  to  heed  it,  to  follow  it.  It  is  a  revela- 
tion, but  a  revelation  not  of  our  weakness 
but  of  our  strength,  not  of  new  principles, 
but  of  the  power  that  lies  in  the  application 
of  old  doctrines.  May  that  vision  never 
fade,  may  America  inspired  by  a  great  pur- 
pose ever  be  able  to  say, 

"Mine  eyes  have  seen  the  glory  of  the  coming  of 
the  Lord." 


148  TREMONT  TEMPLE 


XXII 

TREMONT  TEMPLE 

NOVEMBER  2,  1918 

To  the  greatest  task  man  ever  undertook 
our  Commonwealth  has  applied  itself,  will 
continue  to  apply  itself  with  no  laggard 
hand.  One  hundred  and  ninety  thousand 
of  her  sons  already  in  the  field,  hundreds  of 
millions  of  her  treasure  contributed  to  the 
cause,  her  entire  citizenship  moved  with  a 
single  purpose,  all  these  show  a  determina- 
tion unalterable,  to  prosecute  the  war  to  a 
victory  so  conclusive,  to  a  destruction  of  all 
enemy  forces  so  decisive,  that  those  im- 
pious pretentions  which  have  threatened 
the  earth  for  many  years  will  never  be  re- 
newed. There  can  be  no  discussion  about  it, 
there  can  be  no  negotiation  about  it.  The 
country  is  united  in  the  conviction  that  the 
only  terms  are  unconditional  surrender. 
This  determination  has  arisen  from  no 


TREMONT  TEMPLE  149 

sudden  impulse  or  selfish  motive.  It  was 
forced  upon  us  by  the  plan  and  policy  of 
Germany  and  her  methods  of  waging  war 
upon  others.  The  main  features  of  it  all  have 
long  been  revealed  while  each  day  brings 
to  light  more  of  the  details.  We  have  seen 
the  studied  effort  to  make  perverts  of  sixty 
millions  of  German  people.  We  know  of  the 
corrupting  of  the  business  interests  of  the 
Empire  to  secure  their  support.  We  know 
that  war  had  been  decreed  before  the  pre- 
text on  which  it  was  declared  had  happened. 
We  know  Austria  was  and  is  the  creature  of 
Germany.  We  have  beheld  the  violation  of 
innocent  Belgium,  the  hideous  outrages  on 
soldier  and  civilian,  the  piracy,  the  murder 
of  our  own  neutral  citizens,  and  finally 
there  came  the  notice,  which  as  an  insult  to 
America  has  been  exceeded  only  by  the  re- 
cent suggestion  that  we  negotiate  a  peace 
with  its  authors,  —  the  notice  claiming  do- 
minion over  our  citizens  and  authority  to 
exclude  our  ships  from  the  sea.  The  great 


150  TREMONT  TEMPLE 

pretender  to  the  throne  of  the  earth  thought 
the  time  had  come  to  assert  that  we  were 
his  subjects.  Two  millions  of  our  men  al- 
ready in  France,  and  each  day  ten  thou- 
sand more  are  hastening  to  pay  their  re- 
spects to  him  at  his  court  in  Berlin  in  per- 
son. He  has  our  answer. 

It  would  be  a  mistake  to  suppose  we  have 
already  won  the  war.  It  is  not  won  yet,  but 
we  have  reached  the  place  where  we  know 
how  to  win  it,  and  if  we  continue  our  ex- 
ertions we  shall  win  it  fully,  completely, 
grandly,  as  becomes  a  great  people  contend- 
ing for  the  cause  of  righteousness. 

We  entered  the  war  late  and  without 
previous  military  preparation.  The  more 
clearly  we  discern  the  beginning  and  the 
progress  of  the  struggle,  the  more  we  must 
admire  the  great  spirit  of  those  nations  by 
whose  side  we  fight.  The  more  we  know  of 
the  terrible  price  they  paid,  the  matchless 
sacrifices  they  magnificently  endured  —  the 
French,  the  Italians,  the  British,  the  Bel- 


TREMONT  TEMPLE  151 

gians,  the  Serbians,  the  Poles,  and  the  mis- 
governed, misguided  people  of  Russia  — 
the  bravery  of  their  soldiers  in  the  field, 
the  unflinching  devotion  of  their  people  at 
home,  and  remember  that  in  no  small  sense 
they  were  doing  this  for  us,  that  we  have 
been  the  direct  beneficiaries  of  peoples  who 
have  given  their  all,  the  less  disposition  we 
have  to  think  too  much  of  our  own  impor- 
tance. But  all  this  should  not  cause  us  to 
withhold  the  praise  that  is  due  our  own 
Army  and  Navy,  or  to  overlook  the  fact 
that  our  people  have  met  every  call  that 
patriotism  has  made.  The  soldiers  and  sail- 
ors who  fight  under  the  Stars  and  Stripes 
are  the  most  magnificent  body  of  men  that 
ever  took  up  arms  for  defence  of  a  great 
cause.  Man  for  man  they  surpass  any  other 
troops  on  earth. 

We  must  not  forget  these  things.  We 
must  not  neglect  to  record  them  for  the 
information  of  generations  to  come.  The 
names  and  records  of  boards  and  commis- 


152  TREMONT  TEMPLE 

sions,  relief  societies,  of  all  who  have  en- 
gaged in  financing  the  cause  of  government 
and  charity,  and  other  patriotic  work, 
should  be  preserved  in  the  Library  of  the 
Commonwealth,  and  with  these,  our  mili- 
tary achievements.  These  will  show  how 
American  soldiers  met  and  defeated  the 
Prussian  Guard.  They  will  show  also  that 
in  all  the  war  no  single  accomplishment,  on 
a  like  scale,  excelled  the  battle  of  St.  Mihiel, 
carried  out  by  American  troops,  with  our 
own  Massachusetts  boys  among  them,  and 
that  the  first  regiment  to  be  decorated  as  a 
regiment  for  conspicuous  service  and  gal- 
lantry in  our  Army  in  France  was  the  104th, 
formerly  of  the  old  Massachusetts  National 
Guard.  Such  is  our  record  and  it  cannot  be 
forgotten. 

In  reaching  the  great  decision  to  enter 
the  war,  in  preparing  the  answer  which 
speaks  with  so  much  authority,  in  the  only 
language  that  despotism  can  understand, 
America  has  arisen  to  a  new  life.  We  have 


TREMONT  TEMPLE  153 

taken  a  new  place  among  the  nations.  The 
Revolution  made  us  a  nation;  the  Spanish 
War  made  us  a  world  power,  the  present 
war  has  given  us  recognition  as  a  world 
power.  We  shall  not  again  be  considered 
provincial.  Whether  we  desired  it  or  not 
this  position  has  come  to  us  with  its  duties 
and  its  responsibilities. 

This  new  position  should  not  be  misun- 
derstood. It  does  not  mean  any  diminution 
of  our  national  spirit.  It  rather  means  that 
it  should  be  intensified.  The  most  outstand- 
ing feature  of  the  war  has  been  the  asser- 
tion of  the  national  spirit.  Each  nationality 
is  contending  for  the  right  to  have  its  own 
government,  and  in  that  is  meeting  with 
the  sanction  of  the  free  peoples  of  the  earth. 
We  are  discussing  a  league  of  nations.  Such 
a  league,  if  formed,  is  not  for  the  purpose, 
must  not  be  for  the  purpose,  of  diminishing 
the  spirit  or  influence  of  our  Nation,  but  to 
make  that  spirit  and  influence  more  real 
and  more  effective.  Believing  in  our  Nation 


154  TREMONT  TEMPLE 

thoroughly  and  unreservedly,  confident 
that  the  evidence  of  the  past  and  present 
justifies  that  belief,  it  is  our  one  desire  to 
make  America  more  American.  There  is 
no  greater  service  that  we  can  render  the 
oppressed  of  the  earth  than  to  maintain  in- 
violate the  freedom  of  our  own  citizens. 

Under  our  National  Government  the 
States  are  the  sheet-anchors  of  our  institu- 
tions. On  them  falls  the  task  of  adminis- 
tering local  affairs  and  of  supporting  the 
National ,  Government  in  peace  and  war. 
The  success  with  which  Massachusetts  has 
met  her  local  problems,  the  efficiency  with 
which  she  has  placed  her  resources  of  men 
and  materials  at  the  disposal  of  the  Nation, 
has  been  unsurpassed.  The  efficient  organ- 
ization of  the  Commonwealth,  which  has 
proved.itself  in  time  of  stress,  must  be  main- 
tained undiminished.  On  the  States  will 
largely  fall  the  task  of  putting  into  effect 
the  lessons  of  the  war  that  are  to  make 
America  more  truly  American. 


TREMONT  TEMPLE  155 

One  of  our  first  duties  is  military  train- 
ing. .  The  opportunity  hereafter  for  the 
youth  of  the  Nation  to  receive  instruction 
in  the  science  of  national  defence  should 
be  universal.  The  great  problem  which  our 
present  experience  has  brought  is  the  de- 
velopment of  man  power.  This  includes 
many  questions,  but  especially  public 
health  and  mental  equipment.  Sanitation 
and  education  will  require  more  attention 
in  the  future. 

America  has  been  performing  a  great  serv- 
ice for  humanity.  In  that  service  we  have 
arisen  to  a  new  glory.  The  people  of  the 
nation  without  distinction  have  been  per- 
forming a  great  service  for  America.  In  it 
they  have  realized  a  new  citizenship.  Prus- 
sianism  fails.  Americanism  succeeds.  Edu- 
cation is  to  teach  men  not  what  to  think 
but  how  to  think.  Government  will  take  on 
new  activities,  but  it  is  not  more  to  control 
the  people,  the  people  are  more  to  control 
the  Government. 


156  TREMONT  TEMPLE 

We  have  come  to  the  realization  of  a  new 
brotherhood  among  nations  and  among 
men.  It  came  through  the  performance  of  a 
common  duty.  A  brotherhood  that  existed 
unseen  has  been  recognized  at  last  by  those 
called  to  the  camp  and  trenches  and  those 
working  for  their  victory  at  home.  This 
spirit  must  not  be  misunderstood.  It  is  not 
a  gospel  of  ease  but  of  work,  not  of  depend- 
ence but  of  independence,  not  of  an  easy 
tolerance  of  wrong  but  a  stern  insistence  on 
right,  not  the  privilege  of  receiving  but  the 
duty  of  giving. 

"Man  proposes  but  God  disposes." 
When  Germany  lit  up  her  long  toasted  day 
with  the  lurid  glare  of  war,  she  thought  the 
end  of  freedom  for  the  peoples  of  the  earth 
had  come.  She  thought  that  the  power  of 
her  sword  was  hereafter  to  reign  supreme 
over  a  world  in  slavery,  and  that  the  divine 
right  of  a  king  was  to  be  established  forever. 
We  have  seen  the  drama  drawing  to  its 
close.  It  has  shown  the  victory  of  justice 


TREMONT  TEMPLE  157 

and  of  freedom  and  established  the  divine 
rights  of  the  people.  Through  it  is  shining 
a  new  revelation  of  the  true  brotherhood 
of  man.  As  we  see  the  purpose  Germany 
sought  and  the  result  she  will  secure,  the 
words  of  Holy  Writ  come  back  to  us  — 
"The  wrath  of  man  shall  praise  Him." 


158  FANEUIL  HALL 

XXIII 

FANEUIL  HALL 

NOVEMBER  4,  1918 

WE  need  a  word  of  caution  and  of  warning. 
I  am  responsible  for  what  I  have  said  and 
what  I  have  done.  I  am  not  responsible  for 
what  my  opponents  say  I  have  said  or  say  I 
have  done  either  on  the  stump  or  in  untrue 
political  advertisements  and  untrue  posters. 
I  shall  not  deal  with  these.  I  do  not  care  to 
touch  them,  but  I  do  not  want  any  of  my 
fellow  citizens  to  misunderstand  my  ignor- 
ing them  as  expressing  any  attitude  other 
than  considering  such  attempts  unworthy 
of  notice  when  men  are  fighting  for  the 
preservation  of  our  country. 

Our  work  is  drawing  to  a  close  —  our 
patriotic  efforts.  We  have  had  in  view  but 
one  object  —  the  saving 'of  America. 

We  shall  accomplish  that  object  first  by 
winning  the  war.  That  means  a  great  deal. 
It  means  getting  the  world  forever  rid  of 


FANEUIL  HALL  159 

the  German  idea.  We  can  see  no  way  to  do 
this  but  by  a  complete  surrender  by  Ger- 
many to  the  Allies. 

.  We  stand-by  the  State  and  National 
Governments  in  the  prosecution  of  this  ob- 
ject. I  have  reiterated  that  we  support  the 
Commander-in-Chief  in  war  work.  He  says 
that  is  so. 

We  want  no  delay  in  prosecuting  the  war. 
The  quickest  way  is  the  way  to  save  most 
lives  and  treasure.  We  want  to  care  for  the 
soldiers  and  then*  dependents.  That  has 
been  the  recognized  duty  of  the  Govern- 
ment for  generations. 

To  save  America  means  to  save  Ameri- 
can institutions,  it  means  to  save  the  man- 
hood and  womanhood  of  our  country.  To 
that  we  are  pledged. 

There  will  be  great  questions  of  recon- 
struction, social,  industrial,  economic  and 
governmental  questions,  that  must  be  met 
and  solved.  They  must  be  met  with  a  rec- 
ognition of  a  new  spirit. 


160  FANEUIL  HALL 

It  is  a  time  to  keep  our  faith  in  our  State, 
our  Nation,  our  institutions,  and  in  each 
other.  Doing  that,  the  war  will  be  won  in 
the  field  and  won  in  civil  life  at  home. 


INAUGURAL  ADDRESS  AS  GOVERNOR    161 


XXIV 

FROM  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS  AS 
GOVERNOR 

JANUARY  2,  1919 

You  are  coming  to  a  new  legislative  ses- 
sion under  the  inspiration  of  the  greatest 
achievements  in  all  history.  You  are  be- 
holding the  fulfilment  of  the  age-old  prom- 
ise, man  coming  into  his  own.  You  are  to 
have  the  opportunity  and  responsibility  of 
reflecting  this  new  spirit  in  the  laws  of  the 
most  enlightened  of  Commonwealths.  We 
must  steadily  advance.  Each  individual 
must  have  the  rewards  and  opportunities 
worthy  of  the  character  of  our  citizenship, 
a  broader  recognition  of  his  worth  and  a 
larger  liberty,  protected  by  order  —  and 
always  under  the  law.  In  the  promotion  of 
human  welfare  Massachusetts  happily  may 
not  need  much  reconstruction,  but,  like  all 
living  organizations,  forever  needs  contin- 


162    INAUGURAL  ADDRESS  AS  GOVERNOR 

uing  construction.  What  are  the  lessons 
of  the  past?  How  shall  they  be  applied  to 
these  days  of  readjustment?  How  shall  we 
emerge  from  the  autocratic  methods  of  war 
to  the  democratic  methods  of  peace,  rais- 
ing ourselves  again  to  the  source  of  all  our 
strength  and  all  our  glory  —  sound  self- 
government? 

.  It  is  your  duty  not  only  to  reflect  public 
opinion,  but  to  lead  it.  Whether  we  are  to 
enter  a  new  era  in  Massachusetts  depends 
upon  you.  The  lessons  of  the  war  are  plain. 
Can  we  carry  them  on  into  peace?  Can  we 
still  act  on  the  principle  that  there  is  no 
sacrifice  too  great  to  maintain  the  right? 
Shall  we  continue  to  advocate  and  practise 
thrift  and  industry?  Shall  we  require  un- 
swerving loyalty  to  our  country?  These  are 
the  foundations  of  all  greatness. 

Let  there  be  a  purpose  in  all  your  legisla- 
tion to  recognize  the  right  of  man  to  be  well 
born,  well  nurtured,  well  educated,  well 
employed,  and  well  paid.  This  is  no  gospel 


INAUGURAL  ADDRESS  AS  GOVERNOR    163 

of  ease  and  selfishness,  or  class  distinction, 
but  a  gospel  of  effort  and  service,  of  uni- 
versal application. 

Such  results  cannot  be  secured  at  once, 
but  they  should  be  ever  before  us.  The 
world  has  assumed  burdens  that  will  bear 
heavily  on  all  peoples.  We  shall  not  escape 
our  share.  But  whatever  may  be  our  trials, 
however  difficult  our  tasks,  they  are  only 
the  problems  of  peace,  and  a  victorious 
peace.  The  war  is  over.  Whatever  the  call 
of  duty  now  we  should  remember  with  grat- 
itude that  it  is  nothing  compared  with  the 
heavy  sacrifice  so  lately  made.  The  genius 
and  fortitude  which  conquered  then  can- 
not now  fail. 


164    DEATH  OF  THEODORE  ROOSEVELT 


XXV 

STATEMENT  ON  THE  DEATH  OF 
THEODORE  ROOSEVELT 

THE  people  of  our  Commonwealth  have 
learned  with  profound  sorrow  of  the  death 
of  Theodore  Roosevelt.  No  other  citizen 
of  the  Nation  would  have  brought  in  so 
large  a  degree  the  feeling  of  a  common 
loss.  During  the  almost  eight  years  he  was 
President,  the  people  came  to  see  in  him  a 
reflection  of  their  ideals  of  the  true  Ameri- 
canism. 

He  was  the  advocate  of  every  good  cause. 
He  awakened  the  moral  purpose  of  the  Na- 
tion and  raised  the  standard  of  public  serv- 
ice. He  appealed  to  the  imagination  of 
youth  and  satisfied  the  judgment  of  matur- 
ity. In  him  Massachusetts  saw  an  exponent 
of  her  own  ideals. 

In  token  of  the  love  and  reverence  which 
all  the  people  bore  him,  I  urge  that  the  na- 


DEATH  OF  THEODORE  ROOSEVELT     165 

tional  and  state  flags  be  flown  at  half-mast 
throughout  the  Commonwealth  until  after 
his  funeral,  and  that,  when  next  the  people 
gather  for  public  worship,  his  loss  be  marked 
with  proper  ceremony. 


166     LINCOLN  DAY  PROCLAMATION 

XXVI 

LINCOLN  DAY  PROCLAMATION 
JANUARY  30,  1919 

The  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts 
By  His  Excellency  Calvin  Coolidge,  Governor 

A  PROCLAMATION 

FIVESCORE  and  ten  years  ago  that  Divine 
Providence  which  infinite  repetition  has 
made  only  the  more  a  miracle  sent  into  the 
world  a  new  life,  destined  to  save  a  nation. 
No  star,  no  sign,  foretold  his  coming.  About 
his  cradle  all  was  poor  and  mean  save  only 
the  source  of  all  great  men,  the  love  of  a 
wonderful  woman.  When  she  faded  way  in 
his  tender  years,  from  her  deathbed  in  hum- 
ble poverty  she  dowered  her  son  with  great- 
ness. There  can  be  no  proper  observance  of 
a  birthday  which  forgets  the  mother.  Into 
his  origin  as  into  his  life  men  long  have 
looked  and  wondered.  In  wisdom  great,  but 
in  humility  greater,  in  justice  strong,  but  in 


LINCOLN  DAY  PROCLAMATION     167 

compassion  stronger,  he  became  a  leader  of 
men  by  being  a  follower  of  the  truth.  He 
overcame  evil  with  good.  His  presence  filled 
the  Nation.  He  broke  the  might  of  oppres- 
sion. He  restored  a  race  to  its  birthright. 
His  mortal  frame  has  vanished,  but  his 
spirit  increases  with  the  increasing  years, 
the  richest  legacy  of  the  greatest  century. 

Men  show  by  what  they  worship  what 
they  are.  It  is  no  accident  that  before  the 
great  example  of  American  manhood  our 
people  stand  with  respect  and  reverence. 
And  in  accordance  with  this  sentiment  our 
laws  have  provided  for  a  formal  recogni- 
tion of  the  birthday  of  Abraham  Lincoln, 
for  in  him  is  revealed  our  ideal,  the  hope 
of  our  country  fulfilled. 

Now,  therefore,  by  the  authority  of  Mas- 
sachusetts, the  12th  day  of  February  is  set 
apart  as 

LINCOLN  DAY 

and  its  observance  recommended  as  befits 
the  beneficiaries  of  his  life  and  the  admirers 


168    LINCOLN  DAY  PROCLAMATION 

of  his  character,  in  places  of  education  and 
worship  wherever  our  people  meet  one  with 
another. 

Given  at  the  Executive  Chamber,  in  Boston,  this 
30th  day  of  January,  in  the  year  of  Our  Lord  one 
thousand  nine  hundred  and  nineteen,  and  of  the 
independence  of  the  United  States  of  America  the 
one  hundred  and  forty-third. 

CALVIN  COOLIDGB 
By  his  Excellency  the  Governor, 

ALBERT  P.  LANGTBY, 
Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth. 

God  save  the  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts. 


SPEECHES  OF  INTRODUCTION      169 


XXVII 

INTRODUCING    HENRY    CABOT    LODGE 

AND  A.  LAWRENCE  LOWELL  AT  THE 

DEBATE  ON  THE  LEAGUE  OF 

NATIONS  SYMPHONY  HALL 

MARCH  19,  1919 

WE  meet  here  as  representatives  of  a  great 
people  to  listen  to  the  discussion  of  a  great 
question  by  great  men.  All  America  has 
but  one  desire,  the  security  of  the  peace  by 
facts  and  by  parchment  which  her  brave 
sons  have  wrought  by  the  sword.  It  is  a 
duty  we  owe  alike  to  the  living  and  the 
dead. 

Fortunate  is  Massachusetts  that  she  has 
among  her  sons  two  men  so  eminently 
trained  for  the  task  of  our  enlightenment,  a 
senior  Senator  of  the  Commonwealth  and 
the  President  of  a  university  established 
in  her  Constitution.  Wherever  statesmen 
gather,  wherever  men  love  letters,  this  day's 


170          LODGE-LOWELL  DEBATE 

discussion  will  be  read  and  pondered.  Of 
these  great  men  in  learning,  and  experience, 
wise  in  the  science  and  practice  of  govern- 
ment, the  first  to  address  you  is  a  Senator 
distinguished  at  home  and  famous  every- 
where —  Henry  Cabot  Lodge. 

[After  Senator  Lodge  spoke  he  introduced 
President  Lowell :] 

The  next  to  address  you  is  the  President 
of  Harvard  University  —  an  educator  re- 
nowned throughout  the  world,  a  learned 
student  of  statesmanship,  endowed  with  a 
wisdom  which  has  made  him  a  leader  of 
men,  truly  a  Master  of  Arts,  eminently  a 
Doctor  of  Laws,  a  fitting  representative  of 
the  Massachusetts  domain  -of  letters  — 
Abbott  Lawrence  Lowell. 


VETO  OF  SALARY  INCREASE       171 


XXVIII 
VETO  OF  SALARY  INCREASE 

To  THE  HONORABLE  SENATE  AND  HOUSE 

OF  REPRESENTATIVES: 

In  accordance  with  the  duty  imposed  by 
the  Constitution,  a  bill  entitled,  "An  act  to 
establish  the  compensation  of  the  members 
of  the  General  Court,"  being  House  No. 
1629,  is  herewith  returned  without  approval. 

This  bill  raises  the  salaries  of  members 
from  $1000  to  $1500,  an  increase  of  fifty 
per  cent,  and  is  retroactive.  It  is  necessary 
to  decide  whether  the  Commonwealth  can 
well  afford  this  additional  tax  and  whether 
any  public  benefit  would  accrue  from  it. 

These  are  times  that  require  careful 
scrutiny  of  public  expenditure.  The  burden 
of  taxes  resulting  from  war  is  heavy.  The 
addition  of  $142,000  to  the  expense  of  the 
Commonwealth  in  perpetuity  is  not  to  be 
undertaken  but  upon  proven  necessity. 


172       VETO  OF  SALARY  INCREASE 

Service  in  the  General  Court  is  not  oblig- 
atory but  optional.  It  is  not  to  be  under- 
taken as  a  profession  or  a  means  of  liveli- 
hood. It  is  a  voluntary  public  service.  In 
accord  with  the  principles  of  our  democratic 
institutions  a  compensation  has  been  given 
in  order  that  talent  for  service  rather  than 
the  possession  of  property  might  be  the 
standard  of  membership.  There  is  no  man 
of  sufficient  talent  in  the  Commonwealth 
so  poor  that  he  cannot  serve  for  a  session, 
which  averages  about  five  months,  and  five 
days  each  week,  at  a  salary  of  $1000  — 
and  travel  allowance  of  $2.50  for  each  mile 
between  his  home  and  the  State  House. 
This  is  too  clear  for  argument.  There  is  no 
need  to  consider  those  who  are  too  rich  to 
serve  for  this  sum.  It  would  be  futile  to  dis- 
cuss whether  their  services  are  worth  more 
or  less  than  this,  as  that  is  not  here  the  ques- 
tion. Membership  in  the  General  Court  is 
not  a  job.  There  are  services  rendered  to  the 
Commonwealth  by  senators  and  represen- 


VETO  OF  SALARY  INCREASE       173 

tatives  that  are  priceless.  For  the  searching 
out  of  great  principles  on  which  legislation 
is  based  there  is  no  adequate  compensation. 
If  value  for  services  were  the  criterion, 
there  would  be  280  different  salaries.  When 
membership  is  sought  as  a  means  of  live- 
lihood, legislation  will  pass  from  a  public 
function  to  a  private  enterprise.  Men  do 
not  serve  here  for  pay.  They  seek  work  and 
places  of  responsibility  and  find  in  that 
seeking,  not  in  their  pay,  their  honor. 

The  realities  of  life  are  not  measured  by 
dollars  and  cents.  The  skill  of  the  physi- 
cian, the  divine  eloquence  of  the  clergyman, 
the  courage  of  the  soldier,  that  which  we 
call  character  in  all  men,  are  not  matters  of 
hire  and  salary.  No  person  was  ever  hon- 
ored for  what  he  received.  Honor  has 
been  the  reward  for  what  he  gave.  Public 
acclaim  and  the  ceremonious  recognition 
paid  to  returning  heroes  are  not  on  account 
of  their  government  pay  but  of  the  service 
and  sacrifice  they  gave  their  country.  The 


174       VETO  OF  SALARY  INCREASE 

place  each  member  of  the  General  Court 
will  hold  in  the  estimation  of  his  constitu- 
ents will  never  depend  on  his  salary,  but  on 
the  ability  and  integrity  with  which  he  does 
his  duty;  not  on  what  he  receives,  but  on 
what  he  gives;  and  only  out  of  the  bounti- 
fulness  of  his  own  giving  will  his  constitu- 
ents raise  him  to  power.  Not  by  indulging 
himself,  but  by  denying  himself,  will  he 
reach  success. 

It  is  because  the  General  Court  has  rec- 
ognized these  principles  in  its  past  history 
that  it  has  secured  its  high  place  as  a  legis- 
lative body.  This  act  disregards  all  this  and 
will  ever  appear  to  be  an  undertaking  by 
members  to  raise  their  own  salaries.  The 
fact  that  many  were  thinking  of  the  needs 
of  others  will  remain  unknown.  Appear- 
ances cannot  be  disregarded.  Those  in  whom 
is  placed  the  solemn  duty  of  caring  for 
others  ought  to  think  of  themselves  last  or 
their  decisions  will  lack  authority.  There  is 
apparent  a  disposition  to  deny  the  disinter- 


VETO  OF  SALARY  INCREASE       175 

estedness  and  impartiality  of  government. 
Such  charges  are  the  result  of  ignorance 
and  an  evil  desire  to  destroy  our  institu- 
tions for  personal  profit.  It  is  of  infinite  im- 
portance to  demonstrate  that  legislation  is 
used  not  for  the  benefit  of  the  legislator,  but 
of  the  public. 

The  General  Court  of  Massachusetts  is  a 
legislative  body  noted  for  its  fairness  and 
ability.  It  has  no  superior.  Its  critics  have 
for  the  most  part  come  from  the  outside 
and  have  most  frequently  been  those  who 
have  approached  it  with  the  purpose  of  se- 
curing selfish  desires  of  their  clients  or  them- 
selves. A  long  familiarity  with  it  increases 
respect  for  it.  It  is  charged  with  expressing 
the  abiding  convictions  and  conscience  of 
the  people  of  the  Commonwealth.  The  most 
solemn  obligation  placed  by  the  Constitu- 
tion on  the  Executive  is  the  power  to  veto 
its  actions.  In  all  matters  affecting  it  the 
General  Court  is  entitled  to  his  best  judg- 
ment and  carefully  considered  opinion. 


176       VETO  OF  SALARY  INCREASE 

Anything  less  would  be  a  mark  of  disre- 
spect and  disloyalty  to  its  members.  That 
judgment  and  opinion,  arrived  at  after  a 
wide  counsel  with  members  and  others,  is 
here  expressed,  in  the  light  of  an  obligation 
which  is  not  personal,  "faithfully  and  im- 
partially to  discharge  and  perform"  the 
duties  of  a  public  office. 


FLAG  DAY  PROCLAMATION        177 


XXIX 

FLAG  DAY  PROCLAMATION 
MAY  26,  1919 

WORKS  which  endure  come  from  the  soul 
of  the  people.  The  mighty  in  their  pride 
walk  alone  to  destruction.  The  humble 
walk  hand  in  hand  with  Providence  to  im- 
mortality. Their  works  survive.  When  the 
people  of  the  Colonies  were  defending  their 
liberties  against  the  might  of  kings,  they 
chose  their  banner  from  the  design  set  in 
the  firmament  through  all  eternity.  The 
flags  of  the  great  empires  of  that  day  are 
gone,  but  the  Stars  and  Stripes  remain.  It 
pictures  the  vision  of  a  people  whose  eyes 
were  turned  to  the  rising  dawn.  It  repre- 
sents the  hope  of  a  father  for  his  posterity. 
It  was  never  flaunted  for  the  glory  of  roy- 
alty, but  to  be  born  under  it  is  to  be  a  child 
of  a  king,  and  to  establish  a  home  under  it 
is  to  be  the  founder  of  a  royal  house.  Alone 


178        FLAG  DAY  PROCLAMATION 

of  all  flags  it  expresses  the  sovereignty  of 
the  people  which  endures  when  all  else 
passes  away.  Speaking  with  their  voice  it 
has  the  sanctity  of  revelation.  He  who  lives 
under  it  and  is  loyal  to  it  is  loyal  to  truth 
and  justice  everywhere.  He  who  lives  under 
it  and  is  disloyal  to  it  is  a  traitor  to  the  hu- 
man race  everywhere.  What  could  be  saved 
if  the  flag  of  the  American  Nation  were  to 
perish? 

In  recognition  of  these  truths  and  out  of 
a  desire  born  of  a  purpose  to  defend  and  per- 
petuate them,  the  Commonwealth  of  Mas- 
sachusetts has  by  ordinance  decreed  that 
for  one  day  of  each  year  their  importance 
should  be  dwelt  upon  and  remembered. 
Therefore,  in  accordance  with  that  author- 
ity, the  anniversary  of  the  adoption  of  the 
national  flag,  the  14th  day  of  June  next,  is 
set  apart  as 

FLAG  DAY 
and  it  is  earnestly  recommended  that  it  be 


FLAG  DAY  PROCLAMATION        179 

observed  by  the  people  of  the  Common- 
wealth by  the  display  of  the  flag  of  our 
country  and  in  all  ways  that  may  testify 
to  their  loyalty  and  perpetuate  its  glory. 


180  AMIIERST  COLLEGE 


XXX 

AMHERST  COLLEGE  COMMENCEMENT 
JUNE  18,  1919 

To  the  son  of  any  college,  although  he  does 
not  make  his  connection  with  his  college 
a  profession,  a  return  of  Commencement 
Day  recalls  many  memories.  It  is  likely 
also,  after  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century,  to 
cause  some  reflections.  It  is,  I  suppose,  to 
give  tongue  to  such  memories  and  reflec- 
tions that  after-dinner  speaking  is  provided. 
After  all  due  allowance  for  change  of  per- 
spective, going  to  college  was  a  greater 
event  twenty-five  years  ago  than  it  is  to- 
day. My  own  memories  are  not  yet  ancient 
enough  to  warrant  their  recalling.  The 
greater  events  of  that  day  are  too  recent  to 
need  to  be  related. 

But  I  should  fail  in  my  duty  and  neglect 
my  deep  conviction  if  I  did  not  declare  that 
in  my  day  there  was  no  better  place  to  edu- 


COMMENCEMENT  181 

cate  a  young  man.  Most  of  them  came  with 
a  realization  that  their  coming  meant  a  sac- 
rifice at  home.  They  may  have  lacked  a 
proficiency  in  the  arts  of  the  drawing  room 
which  sometimes  brought  a  smile;  but  no 
competitor  met  the  Amherst  men  of  that 
day  on  the  athletic  field  or  in  the  post- 
graduate school  with  a  smile  that  did  not 
soon  come  off.  They  had  their  pranks  and 
sprees,  but  they  had  the  ideals  of  a  true 
manhood.  They  were  moved  with  a  serious 
purpose.  He  who  had  less  lacked  place 
among  them.  They  are  come  and  gone  from 
the  campus,  those  men  of  the  early  nineties, 
and  with  them  went  the  power  to  com- 
mand. 

Those  were  days  that  represented  espe- 
cially the  spirit  of  President  Seelye.  Under 
his  brilliant  and  polished  successor  the  Fac- 
ulty changes  were  few.  There  was  Profes- 
sor Wood,  the  most  accomplished  intellec- 
tual hazer  of  freshmen.  There  was  Professor 
Gibbons,  who  was  strong  enough  in  Greek 


183  AMHERST  COLLEGE 

derivation  so  that  every  second-year  man 
soon  had  a  clear  conception  of  the  meaning 
of  sophomore.  After  demonstrating  clearly 
that  on  the  negative  side  the  derivation  of 
" contiguity  "  was  not  "con "  and  "  tiguity ," 
he  advised  those  who  could  not  with  equal 
clearness  demonstrate  its  derivation  on  the 
positive  side  to  look  it  up.  There  were 
Morse  and  Frink,  Richardson,  Hitchcock, 
Estey,  Crowell,  Tyler,  and  Garman.  All 
these  and  more  are  gone.  The  living,  no 
less  eminent,  I  need  not  recall.  As  a  teach- 
ingjforce,  as  an  inspirer  of  youth,  for  train- 
ing men  how  to  think,  that  faculty  has  had 
and  will  have  nowhere  any  superior. 

"So  passed  that  pageant." 
The  college  of  to-day  has  taken  on  a  new 
life,  a  new  activity.  Military  training  then 
was  a  spectacle  for  the  Massachusetts  Agri- 
cultural College.  To-day  Amherst  welcomes 
its  returning  soldiers,  and  but  a  little  time 
since  divested  itself  of  the  character  of  a 
military  camp  to  resume  the  wonted  garb 


COMMENCEMENT  183 

of  peace.  Yet  it  is  and  has  been  the  same 
institution,  —  a  college  of  the  liberal  arts. 
In  this  so-called  practical  age  Amherst  has 
chosen  for  her  province  the  most  practical 
of  all,  —  the  culture  and  the  classics  of  all 
time. 

Civilization  depends  not  only  upon  the 
knowledge  of  the  people,  but  upon  the  use 
they  make  of  it.  If  knowledge  be  wrong- 
fully used,  civilization  commits  suicide. 
Broadly  speaking,  the  college  is  not  to  edu- 
cate the  individual,  but  to  educate  society. 
The  individual  may  be  ignorant  and  vicious. 
If  society  have  learning  and  virtue,  that 
will  sustain  him.  If  society  lacks  learning 
and  virtue,  it  perishes.  Education  must 
give  not  only  power  but  direction.  It  must 
minister  to  the  whole  man  or  it  fails. 

Such  an  education  considered  from  the 
position  of  society  does  not  come  from  sci- 
ence. That  provides  power  alone,  but  not 
direction.  Give  a  savage  tribe  firearms  and 
a  distillery,  and  their  members  will  extermi- 


184  AMHERST  COLLEGE 

nate  each  other.  They  have  science  all  right, 
but  misuse  it.  They  lack  ideals.  These 
young  men  that  we  welcome  back  with  so 
much  pride  did  not  go  forth  to  demonstrate 
their  faith  in  science.  They  did  not  offer 
their  lives  because  of  their  belief  in  any 
rule  of  mathematics  or  any  principle  of 
physics  or  chemistry.  The  laws  of  the 
natural  world  would  be  unaffected  by  their 
defeat  or  victory.  No;  they  were  defend- 
ing their  ideals,  and  those  ideals  came  from 
the  classics. 

This  is  preeminently  true  of  the  culture 
of  Greece  and  Rome.  Patriotism  with  them 
was  predominant.  Their  heroes  were  those 
who  sacrificed  themselves  for  their  country, 
from  the  three  hundred  at  Thermopylae  to 
Horatius  at  the  bridge.  Their  poets  sang  of 
the  glory  of  dying  for  one's  native  land.  The 
orations  of  Demosthenes  and  Cicero  are 
pitched  in  the  same  high  strain.  The  philos- 
ophy of  Plato  and  Aristotle  and  the  Greek 
and  Latin  classics  were  the  foundation  of  the 


COMMENCEMENT  185 

Renaissance.  The  revival  of  learning  was 
the  revival  of  Athens  and  Sparta  and  of  the 
Imperial  City.  Modern  science  is  their  prod- 
uct. To  be  included  with  the  classics  are 
modern  history  and  literature,  the  philos- 
ophers, the  orators,  the  statesmen,  and 
poets,  —  Milton  and  Shakespeare,  Lowell 
and  Whittier,  —  the  Farewell  Address,  the 
Reply  to  Hayne,  the  Speech  at  Gettysburg, 
—  it  is  all  these  and  more  that  I  mean  by 
the  classics.  They  give  not  only  power  to  the 
intellect,  but  direct  its  course  of  action. 

The  classic  of  all  classics  is  the  Bible. 

I  do  not  underestimate  schools  of  science 
and  technical  arts.  They  have  a  high  and 
noble  calling  in  ministering  to  mankind. 
They  are  important  and  necessary.  I  am 
pointing  out  that  in  my  opinion  they  do  not 
provide  a  civilization  that  can  stand  with- 
out the  support  of  the  ideals  that  come 
from  the  classics. 

The  conclusion  to  be  derived  from  this 
position  is  that  a  vocational  or  technical 


186  AMHERST  COLLEGE 

education  is  not  enough.  We  must  have 
every  American  citizen  well  grounded  in 
the  classical  ideals.  Such  an  education  will 
not  unfit  him  for  the  work  of  the  world. 
Did  those  men  in  the  trenches  fight  any  less 
valiantly,  did  they  shrink  any  more  from 
the  hardships  of  war,  when  a  liberal  culture 
had  given  a  broader  vision  of  what  the 
great  conflict  meant?  The  discontent  in 
modern  industry  is  the  result  of  a  too  nar- 
row outlook.  A  more  liberal  culture  will 
reveal  the  importance  and  nobility  of  the 
work  of  the  world,  whether  in  war  or  peace. 
It  is  far  from  enough  to  teach  our  citi- 
zens a  vocation.  Our  industrial  system  will 
break  down  unless  it  is  humanized.  There  is 
greater  need  for  a  liberal  culture  that  will 
develop  the  whole  man  in  the  whole  body  of 
our  citizenship.  The  day  when  a  college  edu- 
cation will  be  the  portion  of  all  may  not  be 
so  far  distant  as  it  seems. 

We  live  in  a  republic.  Our  Government 
is  exercised  through  representatives.  Their 


COMMENCEMENT  187 

course  of  action  is  a  very  accurate  reflec- 
tion of  public  opinion.  Where  shall  that 
be  formed  and  directed  unless  from  the 
influences,  direct  and  indirect,  that  come 
from  our  institutions  of  learning.  The  laws 
of  a  republic  represent  its  ideals.  They  are 
founded  upon  public  opinion,  and  public 
opinion  in  America  up  to  the  present  time 
has  drawn  its  inspiration  from  the  classics. 
They  tell  us  that  Waterloo  was  won  on  the 
football  fields  of  Rugby  and  Eton.  The  Ger- 
man war  was  won  by  the  influence  of  clas- 
sical ideals.  As  a  teacher  of  the  classics,  as 
a  maker  of  public  opinion,  as  a  source  of 
wise  laws,  as  the  herald  of  a  righteous  vic- 
tory, —  Amherst  College  stands  on  a  foun- 
dation which  has  remained  unchanged 
through  the  ages.  May  there  be  in  all  her 
sons  a  conviction  that  with  her  abides  Him 
who  changes  not. 


188  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY 


XXXI 

HARVARD  UNIVERSITY  COMMENCE- 
MENT 
JUNE  19,  1919 

No  college  man  who  has  ever  glanced  at  the 
Constitution  of  Massachusetts  is  likely  to 
miss  or  forget  the  generous  references  there 
made  to  Harvard  University.  It  may  need 
a  closer  study  of  that  instrument,  which  is 
older  than  the  American  Constitution,  to 
realize  the  full  significance  of  those  most 
enduring  of  guaranties  that  could  then  be 
imposed  in  behalf  of  Massachusetts  insti- 
tutions. 

The  convention  which  framed  our  Con- 
stitution has  as  its  president  James  Bow- 
doin,  a  son  of  Harvard.  He  was  a  man  of 
great  strength  of  character  and  cast  an  in- 
fluence for  good  upon  the  deliberations  of 
his  day  worthy  of  a  place  in  history  more 
conspicuous  than  is  generally  accorded  to 


COMMENCEMENT  189 

him.  He  had  as  his  colleague  on  the  floor  no 
less  a  person  than  John  Adams.  It  is  not 
necessary  in  this  presence  to  designate  his 
alma  mater.  There  were  others  of  impor- 
tance, but  these  represented  the  type  of 
thought  that  prevailed. 

In  that  noble  Declaration  of  Rights  the 
principles  of  freedom  and  equality  were 
first  declared.  Following  this  is  set  forth  the 
right  of  religious  liberty  and  the  duty  of 
citizens  to  support  places  of  religious  wor- 
ship and  instruction;  and  in  the  Frame  of 
Government,  after  establishing  the  Uni- 
versity, there  is  given  to  legislators  and 
magistrates  a  mandate  forever  to  cherish 
and  support  the  cause  of  education  and  in- 
stitutions of  learning.  These  were  the  dec- 
laration of  broad  and  liberal  policies.  They 
are  capable  of  being  combined,  for  in  fact 
they  declare  that  teaching,  whether  it  be 
by  clergy  or  laity,  is  of  an  importance  that 
requires  it  to  be  surrounded  with  the  same 
safeguards  and  guaranties  as  freedom  and 


190  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY 

equality.  In  fact  the  Constitution  declares 
that  "wisdom  and  knowledge,  as  well  as 
virtue,  diffused  generally  among  the  body 
of  the  people,  are  necessary  for  the  preser- 
vation of  their  rights  and  liberties."  John 
Adams  and  James  Bowdoin  knew  that 
freedom  was  the  fruit  of  knowledge.  Their 
conclusions  were  drawn  from  the  directions 
of  Holy  Writ  —  "  Come,  know  the  truth, 
and  it  shall  make  you  free." 

These  principles  there  laid  down  with  so 
much  solemnity  have  now  the  same  bind- 
ing force  as  in  those  revolutionary  days 
when  they  were  recognized  and  proclaimed. 
I  am  not  unaware  that  they  are  old.  What- 
ever is,  is  old.  It  is  but  our  own  poor  appre- 
hension of  it  that  is  new.  It  would  be  well 
if  they  were  re-apprehended.  It  is  not  well 
if  the  great  diversity  of  modern  learning 
has  made  the  truth  so  little  of  a  novelty 
that  it  lacks  all  reverence. 

The  days  of  the  Revolution  were  days  of 
reverence  and  of  applied  reverence.  Teach- 


COMMENCEMENT  191 

ing  was  to  a  considerable  extent  in  the  hands 
of  the  clergy.  Institutions  of  learning  were 
presided  over  by  clergymen.  The  teacher 
spoke  with  the  voice  of  authority.  He  was 
treated  with  deference.  He  held  a  place  in 
the  community  that  was  not  only  secure 
but  high.  The  rewards  of  his  services  were 
comparatively  large.  He  was  a  leader  of  the 
people.  From  him  came  the  inspiration  of 
liberty.  It  was  in  the  meeting-houses  that 
the  Revolution  was  framed. 

This  dual  character  little  exists  now,  but 
the  principle  is  the  same.  Teaching  is  the 
same  high  calling,  but  how  lacking  now  in 
comparative  appreciation.  The  compensa- 
tion of  many  teachers  and  clergymen  is  far 
less  than  the  pay  of  unskilled  labor.  The 
salaries  of  college  professors  are  much  less 
than  like  training  and  ability  would  com- 
mand in  the  commercial  world.  We  pay  a 
good  price  to  bank  men  to  guard  our  money. 
We  compensate  liberally  the  manufacturer 
and  the  merchant;  but  we  fail  to  appre- 


193  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY 

ciate  those  who  guard  the  minds  of  our 
youth  or  those  who  preside  over  our  con- 
gregations. We  have  lost  our  reverence  for 
the  profession  of  teaching  and  bestowed  it 
upon  the  profession  of  acquiring. 

This  will  have  such  a  reaction  as  might  be 
expected.  Some  of  the  clergy,  seeing  their 
own  rewards  are  disproportionate,  will  draw 
the  conclusion  that  all  rewards  are  dispro- 
portionate, that  the  whole  distribution  of 
wealth  is  unsound;  and  turn  to  a  belief  in 
and  an  advocacy  of  some  kind  of  a  socialis- 
tic state.  Some  of  our  teachers,  out  of  a  like 
discontent,  will  listen  too  willingly  to  rev- 
olutionary doctrines  which  have  not  orig- 
inated in  meeting-houses  but  are  the  im- 
portations of  those  who  lack  nothing  but 
the  power  to  destroy  all  that  our  civiliza- 
tion holds  dear.  Unless  these  conditions  are 
changed,  these  professions  will  not  attract 
to  their  services  young  men  of  the  same 
comparative  quality  of  ability  and  charac- 
ter that  in  the  past  they  commanded. 


COMMENCEMENT  193 

In  our  pursuit  of  prosperity  we  have 
forgotten  and  neglected  its  foundations.  It 
is  true  that  many  of  our  institutions  of 
learning  are  well  endowed  and  have  spa- 
cious buildings,  but  the  plant  is  not  enough. 
Many  modern  schoolhouses  put  to  shame 
any  public  buildings  that  were  erected  in 
the  Colonies.  I  am  directing  attention  to  the 
comparative  position  of  the  great  mass  of 
teachers  and  clergymen.  They  are  not  prop- 
erly appreciated  or  properly  paid.  They 
have  provided  the  foundations  of  our  lib- 
erties. The  importance  of  their  position 
cannot  be  overestimated.  They  have  been 
faithful  though  neglected;  but  a  state  which 
neglects  or  refuses  to  support  any  class  will 
soon  find  that  such  class  neglects  and  re- 
fuses to  support  it.  The  remedy  lies  in  part 
with  private  charity,  in  part  with  govern- 
ment action;  but  it  lies  wholly  with  pub- 
lic opinion.  Private  charity  must  worthily 
support  its  clergymen  and  the  faculty  and 
instructors  of  our  higher  institutions  of 


' 


194  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY 

learning;  and  the  Government  must  ade- 
quately reward  the  teachers  in  its  schools. 
In  the  great  bound  forward  which  has  been 
taken  in  a  material  way,  these  two  noble 
professions,  the  pillars  of  liberty  and  equal- 
ity, have  been  neglected  and  left  behind. 
They  must  be  reestablished.  They  must  be 
restored  to  the  place  of  reverence  they 
formerly  held. 

The  profession  of  teaching  has  come 
down  to  us  with  a  sanction  of  antiquity 
greater  than  all  else.  So  far  back  as  we  can 
peer  into  human  history  there  has  stood  a 
priesthood  that  has  led  its  people  intellec- 
tually and  morally.  Teaching  is  leading. 
The  fundamental  needs  of  humanity  do  not 
change.  They  are  constant.  These  influ- 
ences so  potent  in  the  development  of 
Massachusetts  cannot  be  exchanged  for  a 
leadership  that  is  bred  of  the  market-place, 
to  her  advantage.  We  must  turn  our  eyes 
from  what  is  to  what  ought  to  be.  The  men 
of  the  day  of  John  Adams  and  James  Bow- 


COMMENCEMENT  195 

doin  had  a  vision  that  looked  into  the  heart 
of  things.  They  led  a  revolution  that  swept 
on  to  a  successful  conclusion.  They  estab- 
lished a  nation  that  has  endured  until  its 
flag  is  the  ancient  among  the  banners  of  the 
earth.  Their  counsel  will  not  be  mocked. 
The  men  of  that  day  almost  alone  in  his- 
tory brought  a  Revolution  to  its  objective. 
Not  only  that,  they  reached  it  in  such  a  con- 
dition that  it  there  remained.  The  counter- 
attack of  disorder  failed  entirely  to  dis- 
lodge it.  Their  success  lay  entirely  in  the 
convictions  they  had.  No  nation  can  reject 
these  convictions  and  remain  a  republic. 
Anarchy  or  despotism  will  overwhelm  it. 

Massachusetts  established  Harvard  Col- 
lege to  be  a  defender  of  righteous  convic- 
tions, of  reverence  for  truth  and  for  the 
heralds  of  truth.  The  purpose  set  forth  in 
the  Constitution  is  clear  and  plain.  It  recog- 
nizes with  the  clear  conviction  of  men  not 
thinking  of  themselves  that  the  cause  of 
America  is  the  cause  of  education,  but  of 


196  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY 

education  with  a  soul,  a  trained  intellect  but 
guided  ever  by  an  enlightened  conscience. 
We  of  our  day  need  to  recognize  with  the 
same  vision  that  when  these  fail,  America 
has  failed. 


PLYMOUTH,  LABOR  DAY  197 

XXXII 

PLYMOUTH,  LABOR  DAY 
SEPTEMBER  1,  1919 

THE  laws  of  our  country  have  designated 
the  first  Monday  of  each  September  as 
Labor  Day.  It  is  truly  an  American  day,  for 
it  was  here  that  for  the  first  time  in  history 
a  government  was  founded  on  a  recognition 
of  the  sovereignty  of  the  citizen  which  has 
irresistibly  led  to  a  realization  of  the  dig- 
nity of  his  occupation.  It  is  with  added  pro- 
priety that  this  day  is  observed  this  year. 
For  the  first  time  in  five  years  it  comes  at  a 
time  when  the  issue  of  world  events  makes 
it  no  longer  doubtful  whether  the  American 
conception  of  work  as  the  crowning  glory 
of  men  free  and  equal  is  to  prevail  over 
the  age-old  European  conception  that  work 
is  the  badge  of  the  menial  and  the  inferior. 
The  American  ideal  has  prevailed  on  Eu- 
ropean battle-fields  through  the  loyalty, 
devotion,  and  sacrifice  of  American  labor. 


198  PLYMOUTH,  LABOR  DAY 

The  duty  of  citizenship  in  this  hour  is  to 
strive  to  maintain  and  extend  that  ideal  at 
home. 

The  past  five  years  have  been  a  time  of 
rapid  change  and  great  progress  for  the 
American  people.  Not  only  have  the  hours 
and  conditions  of  labor  been  greatly  im- 
proved, but  wages  have  increased  about  one 
hundred  per  cent.  There  has  been  a  great 
economic  change  for  the  better  among  all 
wage-earners. 

We  have  known  that  political  power  was 
with  the  people,  because  they  have  the 
votes.  We  have  generally  supposed  that 
economic  power  was  not  with  the  people, 
because  they  did  not  own  the  property. 
This  supposition,  probably  never  true,  is 
growing  more  and  more  to  be  contrary  to 
the  facts.  The  great  outstanding  fact  in  the 
economic  life  of  America  is  that  the  wealth 
of  the  Nation  is  owned  by  the  people  of  the 
Nation.  The  stockholders  of  the  great  cor- 
porations run  into  the  hundreds  of  thou- 


PLYMOUTH,  LABOR  DAY 


199 


sands,  the  small  tradesmen,  the  thrifty 
householders,  the  tillers  of  the  soil,  the 
depositors  in  savings  banks,  and  the  now 
owners  of  government  bonds,  make  a  num- 
ber that  includes  nearly  our  entire  people. 
This  would  be  illustrated  by  a  few  Massa- 
chusetts examples  from  figures  which  were 
reported  in  1918: 

Number  of  Stockholders 

Railroads 

Street  railways    

Telephone    

Western  Union  Telegrapfc. . . 


40,485 

17,527 

49,688 

9,360 


Number  of  Employees 

Railroads 

Street  railways    

Telephone 

Western  Union  Telegraph. . . 


Savings  bank  depositors.  . . . 

Railroad,  street  railway,  and 
telephone  bonds  held  by 
savings  banks  and  savings 
departments  of  trust  com- 
panies   

Savings  bank  deposits    


117,060 

20,604 

25,000 

11,471 

2,065 

59,140 
2,491,646 


$267,795,636 
1,022,342,583 


200  PLYMOUTH,  LABOR  DAY 

Money  is  pouring  into  savings  banks  at 
the  rate  of  $275,000  each  working  day. 

Comment  on  these  figures  is  unnecessary. 
There  is,  of  course,  some  reduplication,  but 
in  these  four  public  service  enterprises  there 
are  in  Massachusetts  almost  twice  as  many 
direct  owners  as  there  are  employees.  Two 
persons  out  of  three  have  money  in  the 
savings  bank  —  men,  women,  and  children. 
There  is  this  additional  fact:  more  than  one 
quarter  of  the  stupendous  sum  of  over  a 
billion  dollars  of  the  savings  of  nearly  two 
and  a  half  million  savings  depositors  is  in- 
vested in  railroad,  street  railway,  and  tele- 
phone securities. 

With  these  examples  in  mind  it  would 
appear  that  our  problem  of  economic  jus- 
tice in  Massachusetts,  where  we  live  and  for 
which  alone  we  can  legislate,  is  not  quite  so 
simple  as  assuming  that  we  can  take  from 
one  class  and  give  to  another  class.  We  are 
reaching  and  maintaining  the  position  in 
this  Commonwealth  where  the  property 


PLYMOUTH,  LABOR  DAY          201 

class  and  the  employed  class  are  not  sepa- 
rate, but  identical.  There  is  a  relationship  of 
interdependence  which  makes  their  inter- 
ests the  same  in  the  long  run.  Most  of  us 
earn  our  livelihood  through  some  form  of 
employment.  More  and  more  of  our  people 
are  in  possession  of  some  part  of  the  wages 
of  yesterday,  and  so  are  investors.  This  is 
the  ideal  economic  condition. 

The  great  aim  of  our  Government  is  to 
protect  the  weak  —  to  aid  them  to  become 
strong.  Massachusetts  is  an  industrial  State. 
If  her  people  prosper,  it  must  be  by  that 
means  in  some  of  its  broad  avenues.  How 
can  our  people  be  made  strong?  Only  as 
they  draw  their  strength  from  our  indus- 
tries. How  can  they  do  that?  Only  by  build- 
ing up  our  industries  and  making  them 
strong.  This  is  fundamental.  It  is  the  place 
to  begin.  These  are  the  instruments  of  all 
our  achievement.  When  they  fail,  all  fails. 
When  they  prosper,  all  prosper.  Work- 
men's compensation,  hours  an4  conditions 


202  PLYMOUTH,  LABOR  DAY 

of  labor  are  cold  consolations,  if  there  be  no 
employment.  And  employment  can  be  had 
only  if  some  one  finds  it  profitable.  The 
greater  the  profit,  the  greater  the  wages. 

This  is  one  of  the  economic  lessons  of  the 
war.  It  should  be  remembered  now  when 
taxes  are  to  be  laid,  and  in  the  period  of 
readjustment.  Taxes  must  be  measured  by 
the  ability  to  meet  them  out  of  surplus  in- 
come. Industry  must  expand  or  fail.  It 
must  show  a  surplus  after  all  payments  of 
wages,  taxes,  and  returns  to  investors.  Con- 
scription can  call  once,  then  all  is  over.  Just 
requirements  can  be  met  again  and  again 
with  ever-increasing  ability. 

Justice  and  the  general  welfare  go  hand 
in  hand.  Government  had  to  take  over  our 
transportation  interests  in  order  to  do  such 
justice  to  them  that  they  could  pay  their 
employees  and  carry  our  merchandise.  They 
have  been  so  restricted  lest  they  do  harm 
that  they  became  unable  to  do  good.  Their 
surplus  was  gone,  and  we  New  Englanders 


PLYMOUTH,  LABOR  DAY  203 

had  to  go  without  coal.  Seeing  now  more 
clearly  than  before  the  true  interests  of  wage- 
earner,  investor,  and  the  public,  which  is 
the  consumer,  we  shall  hereafter  be  willing 
to  pay  the  price  and  secure  the  benefits  of 
justice  to  all  these  coordinate  interests. 

We  have  met  the  economic  problem  of 
the  returning  service  men.  They  have  been 
assimilated  into  our  industrial  life  with  lit- 
tle delay  and  with  no  disturbance  of  exist- 
ing conditions.  The  day  of  adversity  has 
passed.  The  American  people  met  and  over- 
came it.  The  day  of  prosperity  has  come. 
The  great  question  now  is  whether  the 
American  people  can  endure  their  prosper- 
ity. I  believe  they  can.  The  power  to  pre- 
serve America  is  in  the  same  hands  to-day 
that  it  was  when  the  German  army  was  al- 
most at  the  gates  of  Paris.  That  power  is 
with  the  people  themselves;  not  one  class, 
but  all  classes ;  not  one  occupation,  but  all  oc- 
cupations; not  one  citizen,  but  all  citizens. 

During  the  past  five  years  we  have  heard 


204        PLYMOUTH;  LABOR  DAY 

many  false  prophets.  Some  were  honest, 
but  unwise;  some  plain  slackers;  a  very 
few  were  simply  public  enemies.  Had  their 
counsels  prevailed,  America  would  have 
been  destroyed.  In  general  they  appealed  to 
the  lower  impulses  of  the  people,  for  in  their 
ignorance  they  believed  the  most  powerful 
motive  of  this  Nation  was  a  sodden  selfish- 
ness. They  said  the  war  would  never  affect 
us;  we  should  confine  ourselves  to  making 
money.  They  argued  for  peace  at  any  price. 
They  opposed  selective  service.  They  sought 
to  prevent  sending  soldiers  to  Europe.  They 
advocated  peace  by  negotiation.  They 
were  answered  from  beginning  to  end  by 
the  loyalty  of  the  American  workingmen 
and  the  wisdom  of  their  leaders.  That 
loyalty  and  that  wisdom  will  not  desert  us 
now.  The  voices  that  would  have  lured  us 
to  destruction  were  unheeded.  All  counsels 
of  selfishness  were  unheeded,  and  America 
responded  with  a  spirit  which  united  our 
people  as  never  before  to  the  call  of  duty. 


PLYMOUTH,  LABOR  DAY  205 

Having  accomplished  this  great  task, 
having  emerged  from  the  war  the  strongest, 
the  least  burdened  nation  on  earth,  are  we 
now  to  fail  before  our  lesser  task?  Are  we 
to  turn  aside  from  the  path  that  has  led 
us  to  success?  Who  now  will  set  selfishness 
above  duty?  The  counsel  that  Samuel  Gom- 
pers  gave  is  still  sound,  when  he  said  in 
effect,  "America  may  not  be  perfect.  It  has 
the  imperfections  of  all  things  human.  But 
it  is  the  best  country  on  earth,  and  the  man 
who  will  not  work  for  it,  who  will  not  fight 
for  it,  and  if  need  be  die  for  it,  is  unworthy 
to  live  in  it." 

Happily,  the  day  when  the  call  to  fight 
or  die  is  now  past.  But  the  day  when  it  is 
the  duty  of  all  Americans  to  work  will  re- 
main forever.  Our  great  need  now  is  for 
more  of  everything  for  everybody.  It  is  not 
money  that  the  nation  or  the  world  needs 
to-day,  but  the  products  of  labor.  These 
products  are  to  be  secured  only  by  the 
united  efforts  of  an  entire  people.  The 


206  PLYMOUTH,  LABOR  DAY 

trained  business  man  and  the  humblest 
workman  must  each  contribute.  All  of  us 
must  work,  and  in  that  work  there  should 
be  no  interruption.  There  must  be  more 
food,  more  clothing,  more  shelter.  The 
directors  of  industry  must  direct  it  more 
efficiently,  the  workers  in  industry  must 
work  in  it  more  efficiently.  Such  a  course 
saved  us  in  war;  only  such  a  course  can  pre- 
serve us  in  peace.  The  power  to  preserve 
America,  with  all  that  it  now  means  to  the 
world,  all  the  great  hope  that  it  holds  for 
humanity,  lies  in  the  hands  of  the  people. 
Talents  and  opportunity  exist.  Application 
only  is  uncertain.  May  Labor  Day  of  1919 
declare  with  an  increased  emphasis  the 
resolution  of  all  Americans  to  work  for 
America. 


WESTFIELD  207 


XXXIII 

WESTFIELD 
SEPTEMBER  3,  1919 

WE  come  here  on  this  occasion  to  honor 
the  past,  and  in  that  honor  render  more  se- 
cure the  present.  It  was  by  such  men  as 
settled  Westfield,  and  two  hundred  and  fifty 
years  ago  established  by  law  a  chartered 
and  ordered  government,  that  the  founda- 
tions of  Massachusetts  were  laid.  And  it 
was  on  the  foundations  of  Massachusetts 
that  there  began  that  training  of  the  people 
for  the  great  days  that  were  to  come,  when 
they  were  prepared  to  endorse  and  support 
the  principles  set  out  in  the  Declaration 
of  Independence,  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  of  America,  and  the  Eman- 
cipation Proclamation  of  Abraham  Lincoln. 
Here  were  planted  the  same  seeds  of  right- 
eousness victorious  which  later  flourished 
with  such  abundance  at  Saratoga,  at  Gettys- 


208  WESTFIELD 

burg,  and  at  the  second  battle  of  the  Marne. 
Stupendous  results,  the  product  of  a  people 
working  with  an  everlasting  purpose. 

While  celebrating  the  history  of  West- 
field,  this  day  has  been  set  apart  to  the  mem- 
ory of  one  of  her  most  illustrious  sons, 
General  William  Shepard.  To  others  are 
assigned  the  history  of  your  town  and  the 
biography  of  your  soldier.  Into  those  par- 
ticulars I  shall  not  enter.  But  the  prin- 
ciples of  government  and  of  citizenship 
which  they  so  well  represent,  and  nobly 
illustrate,  will  never  be  untimely  or  un- 
worthy of  reiteration. 

The  political  history  of  Westfield  has 
seen  the  success  of  a  great  forward  move- 
ment, to  which  it  contributed  its  part,  in 
establishing  the  principle,  that  the  indi- 
vidual in  his  rights  is  supreme,  and  that 
"governments  derive  their  just  powers 
from  the  consent  of  the  governed."  It  is 
the  establishment  of  liberty,  under  an  or- 
dered form  of  government,  in  this  ancient 


WESTFIELD  209 

town,  by  the  people  themselves,  that  to-day 
draws  us  here  in  admiration  of  her  achieve- 
ments. When  we  turn  to  the  life  of  her 
patriot  son  we  see  that  he  no  less  grandly 
illustrated  the  principle,  that  to  such  gov- 
ernment, so  established,  the  people  owe  an 
allegiance  which  has  the  binding  power  of 
the  most  solemn  obligation. 

There  is  such  a  disposition  in  these  days 
to  deny  that  our  Government  was  formed 
by,  or  is  now  in  control  of,  the  people,  that 
a  glance  at  the  history  of  the  days  of  Gen- 
eral Shepard  is  peculiarly  pertinent  and 
instructive. 

The  Constitution  of  Massachusetts,  with 
its  noble  Declaration  of  Rights,was  adopted 
in  1780.  Under  it  we  still  live  with  scarce 
any  changes  that  affect  the  rights  of  the 
people.  The  end  of  the  Revolutionary  War 
was  1783.  Shays's  Rebellion  was  in  1787. 
The  American  Constitution  was  ratified 
and  adopted  in  1788.  These  dates  tell  us 
what  the  form  of  government  was  in  this 
period. 


210  WESTFIELD 

If  there  are  any  who  doubt  that  our  in- 
stitutions, formed  in  those  days,  did  not 
establish  a  peoples'  government,  let  them 
study  the  action  of  the  Massachusetts  Con- 
vention which  ratified  the  Federal  Consti- 
tution in  1788.  Presiding  over  it  was  the 
popular  patriot  Governor  John  Hancock. 
On  the  floor  sat  Samuel  Adams,  who  had 
been  the  father  of  the  Revolution,  preemi- 
nent champion  of  the  liberty  of  the  people. 
Such  an  influence  had  he,  that  his  assertion 
of  satisfaction,  was  enough  to  carry  the 
delegates.  Like  a  majority  of  the  members 
he  came  opposed  to  ratification.  Having 
totally  thrown  off  the  authority  of  foreign 
power,  they  came  suspicious  of  all  outside 
authority.  Besides  there  were  eighteen 
members  who  had  taken  part  in  Shays's 
Rebellion,  so  hostile  were  they  to  the  execu- 
tion of  all  law.  Mr.  Adams  was  finally  con- 
vinced by  a  gathering  of  the  workingmen 
among  his  constituents,  who  exercised  their 
constitutional  right  of  instructing  their  rep- 


WESTFIELD  211 

resentatives.  Their  opinion  was  presented 
to  him  by  Paul  Revere.  "How  many  me- 
chanics were  at  the  Green  Dragon  when 
these  resolutions  were  passed?"  asked  Mr. 
Adams.  "More,  sir,  than  the  Green  Dragon 
could  hold."  "And  where  were  the  rest?" 
"In  the  streets,  sir."  "And  how  many  were 
in  the  streets?"  "More  than  there  are  stars 
in  the  sky."  This  is  supposed  to  have  con- 
vinced the  great  Massachusetts  tribune  that 
it  was  his  duty  to  support  ratification. 
1  There  were  those,  however,  who  dis- 
trusted the  Constitution  and  distrusted  its 
proponents.  They  viewed  lawyers  and  men 
of  means  with  great  jealousy.  Amos  Sin- 
gletary  expressed  their  sentiments  in  the 
form  of  an  argument  that  has  not  ceased 
to  be  repeated  in  the  discussion  of  all 
public  affairs.  "These  lawyers,"  said  he, 
"and  men  of  learning  and  moneyed  men 
that  talk  so  finely  and  gloss  over  matters 
so  smoothly,  to  make  us  poor  illiterates 
swallow  the  pill,  expect  to  get  into  Con- 


212  WESTFIELD 

gress  themselves.  They  mean  to  be  man- 
agers of  the  Constitution.  They  mean  to 
get  all  the  money  into  their  hands  and 
then  they  will  swallow  up  us  little  folk,  like 
the  great  Leviathan,  Mr.  President:  yes, 
just  like  the  whale  swallowed  up  Jonah." 
In  the  convention  sat  Jonathan  Smith, 
a  farmer  from  Lanesboro.  He  had  seen 
Shays's  Rebellion  in  Berkshire.  There  had 
been  no  better  example  of  a  man  of  the 
people  desiring  the  common  good. 

"I  am  a  plain  man,"  said  Mr.  Smith, 
"and  am  not  used  to  speak  in  public,  but 
I  am  going  to  show  the  effects  of  anarchy, 
that  you  may  see  why  I  wish  for  good  gov- 
ernment. Last  winter  people  took  up  arms, 
and  then,  if  you  went  to  speak  to  them,  you 
had  the  musket  of  death  presented  to  your 
breast.  They  would  rob  you  of  your  property, 
threaten  to  burn  your  houses,  oblige  you 
to  be  on  your  guard  night  and  day.  Alarms 
spread  from  town  to  town,  families  were 
broken  up;  the  tender  mother  would  cry, 


WESTFIELD  213 

'Oh,  my  son  is  among  them!  What  shall  I 
do  for  my  child? '  Some  were  taken  captive; 
children  taken  out  of  their  schools  and 
carried  away.  .  .  .  How  dreadful  was  this! 
Our  distress  was  so  great  that  we  should 
have  been  glad  to  snatch  at  anything  that 
looked  like  a  government.  .  .  .  Now,  Mr. 
President,  when  I  saw  this  Constitution,  I 
found  that  it  was  a  cure  for  these  disorders. 
I  got  a  copy  of  it,  and  read  it  over  and  over. 
...  I  did  not  go  to  any  lawyer,  to  ask  his 
opinion;  we  have  no  lawyer  in  our  town, 
and  we  do  well  enough  without.  My  hon- 
ourable old  daddy  there  (pointing  to  Mr. 
Singletary)  won't  think  that  I  expect  to  be 
a  Congressman,  and  swallow  up  the  liber- 
ties of  the  people.  I  never  had  any  post,  nor 
do  I  want  one.  But  I  don't  think  the  worse 
of  the  Constitution  because  lawyers,  and 
men  of  learning,  and  moneyed  men  are 
fond  of  it.  I  am  not  of  such  a  jealous  make. 
They  that  are  honest  men  themselves  are 
not  apt  to  suspect  other  people. . . .  Brother 


214  WESTFIELD 

farmers,  let  us  suppose  a  case,  now.  Sup- 
pose you  had  a  farm  of  50  acres,  and  your 
title  was  disputed,  and  there  was  a  farm  of 
5000  acres  joined  to  you  that  belonged  to  a 
man  of  learning,  and  his  title  was  involved 
in  the  same  difficulty;  would  you  not  be 
glad  to  have  him  for  your  friend,  rather 
than  to  stand  alone  in  the  dispute?  Well, 
the  case  is  the  same.  These  lawyers,  these 
moneyed  men,  these  men  of  learning,  are 
all  embarked  in  the  same  cause  with  us,  and 
we  must  all  sink  or  swim  together.  Shall  we 
throw  the  Constitution  overboard  because 
it  does  not  please  us  all  alike?  Suppose  two 
or  three  of  you  had  been  at  the  pains  to 
break  up  a  piece  of  rough  land  and  sow  it 
with  wheat:  would  you  let  it  lie  waste  be- 
cause you  could  not  agree  what  sort  of  a 
fence  to  make?  Would  it  not  be  better  to 
put  up  a  fence  that  did  not  please  every 
one's  fancy,  rather  than  keep  disputing 
about  it  until  the  wild  beasts  came  in  and 
devoured  the  crop?  Some  gentlemen  say, 


WESTFIELD  215 

Don't  be  in  a  hurry;  take  time  to  consider. 
I  say,  There  is  a  time  to  sow  and  a  time  to 
reap.  We  sowed  our  seed  when  we  sent  men 
to  the  Federal  Convention,  now  is  the  time 
to  reap  the  fruit  of  our  labour;  and  if  we  do 
not  do  it  now,  I  am  afraid  we  shall  never 
have  another  opportunity." 

There  spoke  the  common  sense  of  the 
common  man  of  the  Commonwealth.  The 
counsel  of  the  farmer  from  the  country, 
joined  with  the  resolutions  of  the  working- 
men  from  the  city,  carried  the  convention 
and  the  Constitution  was  ratified.  In  the 
light  of  succeeding  history,  who  shall  say, 
that  it  was  not  the  voice  of  the  people, 
speaking  with  the  voice  of  Infinite  Author- 
ity? 

The  attitude  of  Samuel  Adams,  William 
Shepard,  Jonathan  Smith  and  the  working- 
men  of  Boston  toward  government,  is  wor- 
thy of  our  constant  emulation.  They  had 
not  hesitated  to  take  up  arms  against  tyr- 
anny in  the  Revolution,  but  having  estab- 


216  WESTFIELD 

lished  a  government  of  the  people  they 
were  equally  determined  to  defend  and  sup- 
port it.  They  hated  the  usurper  whether 
king,  or  Parliament,  or  mob,  but  they 
bowed  before  the  duly  constituted  author- 
ity of  the  people. 

When  the  question  of  pardoning  the  con- 
victed leaders  of  the  rebellion  came  up, 
Adams  opposed  it.  "In  monarchies,"  he 
said,  "the  crime  of  treason  and  rebellion 
may  admit  of  being  pardoned  or  lightly 
punished;  but  the  man  who  dares  to  rebel 
against  the  laws  of  a  republic  ought  to 
suffer  death."  We  are  all  glad  mercy  pre- 
vailed and  pardon  was  granted.  But  the 
calm  judgment  of  Samuel  Adams,  the  lover 
of  liberty,  "the  man  of  the  town  meeting" 
whose  clear  vision,  taught  by  bitter  expe- 
rience, saw  that  all  usurpation  is  tyranny, 
must  not  go  unheeded  now.  The  authority 
of  a  just  government  derived  from  the  con- 
sent of  the  governed,  has  back  of  it  a  Power 
that  does  not  fail. 


WESTFIELD  217 

All  wars  bring  in  their  trail  great  hard- 
ships. They  existed  in  the  day  of  General 
Shepard.  They  exist  now.  Having  set  up  a 
sound  government  hi  Massachusetts,  having 
secured  their  independence,  as  the  result  of 
a  victorious  war,  the  people  expected  a  sea- 
son of  easy  prosperity.  In  that  they  were 
temporarily  disappointed.  Some  rebelling, 
were  overthrown.  The  adoption  of  the  Fed- 
eral Constitution  brought  relief  and  pros- 
perity. 

Success  has  attended  the  establishment 
here  of  a  government  of  the  people.  We  of 
this  day  have  just  finished  a  victorious  war 
that  has  added  new  glory  to  American  arms. 
We  are  facing  some  hardships,  but  they  are 
not  serious.  Private  obligations  are  not  so 
large  as  to  be  burdensome.  Taxes  can  be 
paid.  Prosperity  abounds.  But  the  great 
promise  of  the  future  lies  in  the  loyalty  and 
devotion  of  the  people  to  their  own  Govern- 
ment. They  are  firm  in  the  conviction  of  the 
fathers,  that  liberty  is  increased  only  by 


218  WESTFIELD 

increasing  the  determination  to  support  a 
government  of  the  people,  as  established  in 
this  ancient  town,  and  defended  by  its 
patriotic  sons. 


A  PROCLAMATION  219 


The  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts 
By  His  Excellency  Calvin  Coolidge,  Governor 

A  PROCLAMATION 

THE  entire  State  Guard  of  Massachusetts 
has  been  called  out.  Under  the  Constitution 
the  Governor  is  the  Commander-in-Chief 
thereof  by  an  authority  of  which  he  could 
not  if  he  chose  divest  himself.  That  com- 
mand I  must  and  will  exercise.  Under  the 
law  I  hereby  call  on  all  the  police  of  Boston 
who  have  loyally  and  in  a  never-to-be-for- 
gotten way  remained  on  duty  to  aid  me  in 
the  performance  of  my  duty  of  the  restora- 
tion and  maintenance  of  order  in  the  city 
of  Boston,  and  each  of  such  officers  is  re- 
quired to  act  in  obedience  to  such  orders  as 
I  may  hereafter  issue  or  cause  to  be  issued. 
I  call  on  every  citizen  to  aid  me  in  the 
maintenance  of  law  and  order. 

Given  at  the  Executive  Chamber,  in  Boston,  this 
eleventh  day  of  September,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord 


220  A  PROCLAMATION 

one  thousand  nine  hundred  and  nineteen,  and  of  the 
Independence  of  the  United  States  of  America  the 
one  hundred  and  forty-fourth. 

CALVIN  COOLIDGE 
By  His  Excellency  the  Governor, 

ALBERT  P.  LANGTRY 
Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth 

God  save  the  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts. 


AN  ORDER  221 

AN  ORDER 

BOSTON,  September  11,  1919 

To  EDWIN  U.  CUETIS, 

As  you  are  Police  Commissioner  of  the 
City  of  Boston, 

Executive  Order  No.  1 

You  are  hereby  directed,  for  the  purpose 
of  assisting  me  in  the  performance  of  my 
duty,  pursuant  to  the  proclamation  issued 
by  me  this  day,  to  proceed  in  the  perform- 
ance of  your  duties  as  Police  Commissioner 
of  the  city  of  Boston  under  my  command 
and  in  obedience  to  such  orders  as  I  shall 
issue  from  time  to  time,  and  obey  only  such 
orders  as  I  may  so  issue  or  transmit. 

CALVIN  COOLIDGE 
Governor  of  Massachusetts 


222  A  TELEGRAM 


A  TELEGRAM 

BOSTON,  MASS.,  Sept.  14,  1919 

MR.  SAMUEL  GOMPERS 

President  American  Federation  of  Labor,  New  York 
City,  N.Y. 

Replying  to  your  telegram,  I  have  al- 
ready refused  to  remove  the  Police  Com- 
missioner of  Boston.  I  did  not  appoint  him. 
He  can  assume  no  position  which  the  courts 
would  uphold  except  what  the  people  have 
by  the  authority  of  their  law  vested  in  him. 
He  speaks  only  with  their  voice.  The  right 
of  the  police  of  Boston  to  affiliate  has  al- 
ways been  questioned,  never  granted,  is 
now  prohibited.  The  suggestion  of  Presi- 
dent Wilson  to  Washington  does  not  apply 
to  Boston.  There  the  police  have  remained 
on  duty.  Here  the  Policemen's  Union  left 
their  duty,  an  action  which  President  Wil- 
son characterized  as  a  crime  against  civili- 
zation. Your  assertion  that  the  Commis- 


A  TELEGRAM  223 

sioner  was  wrong  cannot  justify  the  wrong 
of  leaving  the  city  unguarded.  That  fur- 
nished the  opportunity,  the  criminal  ele- 
ment furnished  the  action.  There  is  no 
right  to  strike  against  the  public  safety  by 
anybody,  anywhere,  any  time.  You  ask 
that  the  public  safety  again  be  placed  in 
the  hands  of  these  same  policemen  while 
they  continue  in  disobedience  to  the  laws  of 
Massachusetts  and  in  their  refusal  to  obey 
the  orders  of  the  Police  Department.  Nine- 
teen men  have  been  tried  and  removed. 
Others  having  abandoned  their  duty,  their 
places  have,  under  the  law,  been  declared 
vacant  on  the  opinion  of  the  Attorney- 
General.  I'can  suggest  no  authority  outside 
the  courts  to  take  further  action.  I  wish  to 
join  and  assist  in  taking  a  broad  view  of 
every  situation.  A  grave  responsibility  rests 
on  all  of  us.  You  can  depend  on  me  to  sup- 
port you  in  every  legal  action  and  sound 
policy.  I  am  equally  determined  to  defend 
the  sovereignty  of  Massachusetts  and  to 


224  A  TELEGRAM 

maintain  the  authority  and  jurisdiction 
over  her  public  officers  where  it  has  been 
placed  by  the  Constitution  and  law  of  her 
people. 

CALVIN  COOLIDGE 
Governor  of  Massachusetts 


CAMBRIDGE  .  MASSACHUSETTS 
V    .    S    .    A 


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